The Power Of A Storm
by OptimusChrist
Summary: A massive storm hits titan tower, what will happen when the team is stuck inside? RaeRob, and a love triangle. First chapter sucks, forgive me. Gets better though! R&R [Completed]
1. Books, Tea, and Money

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This is my first fic, so please be kind. Also, please read the note at the bottom. Hope you like it! 

Disclaimer: Don't/Won't/Can't own Teen Titans or any of the characters.

Just in case, _words like this_ mean's someone is thinking.

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**The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 1: Books, Tea, and Money**

_BOOM._ Thunder roared, causing the windows to vibrate. Rain fell in thick sheets on the giant windows. Lightening flashed again, illuminating the city in the distance. The giant T was weathering a storm the likes of which had been unseen by the residents of Jump City before. Inside the oddly shaped tower, five teens were going about business as usual. However these were not the usual teens. There was Robin, who was in the weight room beating on a punching bag, and Cyborg and Beastboy who were playing some sort of racing game on the big screen television. Cyborg crashed his car into Beastboy's making BB yell out.

"Dude! No fair! You can't do that!"

"I can, I did, and baby that's why I'm gonna win!"

Starfire was in the kitchen, humming tunelessly to herself while mixing various ingredients together in a bowl. Occasionally she would look over and giggle at the antics of her teammates. She was making a Tamaranean treat for the boys that they were sure to find disgusting, but Starfire always tried anyways. _They'll like this one_, she thought. Raven was locked up in her room, reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Currently she was reading _The Tell-Tale Heart_ for the sixth time that month.

_I need to go get more books_, she thought to herself as she continued to read.

Unbeknownst to her, as she was reading a certain teen in spandex was walking by, on the way to his room to shower after his workout. Robin stopped at the door marked Raven, and looked intently at it. No sounds came from behind the door. _I wonder if she's even in there._ He stared and stared, not knowing what to do or why he had stopped there. Something about that door held his attention. Or perhaps it was someone behind the door. After a long silence he slowly raised his hand to the door and knocked softly.

"Raven?"

No answer. He waited, a bead of sweet running down the side of his face. He still heard nothing so he began to walk away. As he left the sound of a door opening came from behind him.

"What?" came a grumpy voice.

She spotted Robin and looked at him impatiently. He walked back over to her door and remained silent.

"Well?" she asked.

"……." Robin couldn't think of anything to say to her, he was too busy wondering why he had knocked in the first place, and trying to figure out why he felt so nervous all of a sudden.

Raven raised an eyebrow at him. "Uhhh, Robin? You knocked on my door, care to explain why?"

"Huh? Oh…No reason, I guess."

"Well then don't interrupt me." Came her irritated replay. And with that the door slammed shut.

"Wait, Raven!"

The door opened again. Slightly this time, so he could only see her eyes, hidden beneath her hood.

"What is it this time Robin? I'm trying to read a book in here."

"……What are you reading?"

Raven looked confused, _What does he care?_ She thought. Instead she decided to humor him and said, "_The Tell-Tale Heart_." In a monotone, as usual.

"Oh…. Do you like it?"

"Yes, that's why I'm reading it again." Again, a monotone, devoid of emotion.

Silence descended on the two. The only thing that could be heard was the two teen's breathing. In the silence Raven frowned. Although her voice showed no feeling, on the inside she was confused; it was very unlike Robin to make a social call, especially to her. _Why would he care what I'm reading? He's too busy loving himself to care about the rest of us._ She broke the silence by merely saying, "…. Right…. I'm going to go back to reading now." and closed her door.

Back in her room she tried to resume her reading, but her focus was gone. _Why did he even come to my door? He's usually too busy obsessing over criminals and his punching bag to care about anyone else. I wish they would leave me alone and let me be myself, instead of forcing me to come out and listen to their prattle. _When she thought about Robin she felt annoyed, and slightly uneasy in her heart. New emotions were rising inside her, and she quickly picked up her mirror, to go meet the new feelings.

Robin walked away after staring at her closed door for a few more minutes thinking to himself.

_Again? Maybe she needs more books…_ He suddenly realized he was in his own room now. _Got to pay more attention to where I'm going_, he thought. He then removed his clothing and proceeded to shower after his intense workout, as originally planned. _Why did I stop at her door? Why was I nervous? And for that matter, why couldn't I think of anything to say? It's just Raven. I've talked to her thousands of times before with no problems… _ The answers escaped him and he pounded his fist against the wall of the shower in frustration.

After drying off he headed for the living room to get something to eat. He found the rest of the titans there, doing what they normally do, Starfire had finished her "treat" and the boys were both trying to find excuses not to eat it.

"It looks good Star, but I … uh…. " Cyborg trailed off there as Robin entered the room.

"Friend Robin! You must try the food I have made! It is as delicious as the mustard!" She exclaimed as soon as she saw Robin.

"Whew Good thing Robin showed up" Both boys muttered under their breaths.

"No thanks Star, I'll just have some tea." _Raven likes tea,_ he thought. _Wait, why does it matter what Raven likes?_ He shrugged and resumed waiting for the tea to boil, but found his thoughts wandering back to the conversation he had with Raven. Replaying the whole scene in his mind, only this time he had something to say, and it was something smooth and suave, making Raven blush. He had told her that she was beautiful, and that he was sorry no one around the tower seemed to appreciate how great she really was, except him of course.

Robin had a detached look in his eyes, but a smile was creeping up on his face. He had stopped paying attention to Starfire, so she gave up and after trying one last time to get Cyborg and Beastboy to eat it, she ate her concoction alone.

"Robin? Yo man, you ok?" Cyborg questioned the boy wonder.

"Yeah dude, you're looking like you're a million miles away."

"Hmm? Oh… nothing. Just… thinking." He answered, speaking slowly, choosing his words.

The robot and the changeling just shrugged, and resumed their contest of seeing who could beat who in their game.

Lightening flashed and thunder boomed again. The storm continued outside. Robin looked up from the boiling kettle at the lightening, out to the dark silhouette of the city. After his tea finished, he poured a cup and left for his room, stopping only to look at the label on the door marked Raven. He then fell asleep to troubled thoughts of what could be.

* * *

(Next Day) 

The next morning the team awoke to the sound of rain and thunder. Robin was the first one up, as usual. _Storm still going I guess. At least no villains are out._ He proceeded to shower, get dressed, and head to the kitchen for his morning meal.

When he got there he proceeded to cook some eggs for himself, as well as prepare some toast and orange juice. _No wait_, he thought as he got the OJ out. _That tea last night was good, I think I'll have some this morning instead. _As the eggs were cooking he heard a door open, and looked up to see Raven arrive to get her morning tea.

As soon as she saw Robin she pulled her hood up. Walking over to the stove she started boiling her water to make tea, only to discover that there was already some going.

"Morning Raven."

Raven remained quiet and avoided his eyes. _Did he do this for me? Why is he acting so strangely lately?_

"Hey listen, I'm sorry about bothering you last night, I just thought you might enjoy having someone come to see you."

Raven eyed him shadily, not believing his story and suspicious he was up to something. _Something is going on here…_

"Don't be sorry, just don't do it again."

The kettle started to whistle causing the two teens to jump, both were uneasy. Raven started to pour her tea, but Robin stopped her.

"Let me"

_Something is definitely up,_ she thought. No one had made her tea for her before. She mumbled her thanks and quickly left.

"Raven!"

She stopped, and turned slowly to face him.

"… What Robin?"

"Later today, if the alarm doesn't go off, do you want to go get more books?" There was hope in his voice. _Hope she says yes,_ was all that ran through the boy wonder's mind. Raven paused and thought for a moment before speaking.

"…Do the others have to come?"

"Not if you don't want them to, no. If it's more comfortable for you to go with just me than that's fine."

"…Ok. After lunch then."

Raven then went to her room to drink her tea and do her morning meditation. Watching her leave Robin felt elated that she said yes, but that joy led to concern. Concern of how she could live on just tea, and the concern over his concern. _Am I falling for her? How can that be, I mean, she's Raven. She doesn't seem capable of loving anyone. It's an impossible goal. But then again, she looks like she could use someone, to help her. So she won't be so alone. She deserves someone to be there…_

Robin became lost in thought, until he heard the door open again. Seeing Cyborg he quickly pushed Raven out of his mind, and finished his breakfast.

* * *

(Later that day) 

Knock Knock _Again with the interruptions,_ Raven thought. Closing her book she got up and opened the door a crack. _Oh great, the boy wonder again_.

"What now Robin?"

"Remember Raven, you agreed to go get more books today."

"Oh right, that." _Great. Now how will I get anything done today. _"I thought we were doing that after lunch."

"Oh, um…" Robin started to stutter, unable to explain why it was that he came to try and leave earlier. "The storm!" he suddenly yelled a little to loudly. "I wanted to try and get this done before the storm grows worse" _Good cover up_, he thought to himself.

"Ah, yes, the storm. Alright then, let's go."

Robin hid a smile as he and Raven left for the city. Getting some alone time with Raven would make his day. _Why does this make me so happy?_ Another unanswerable question to plague him. They visited several bookstores looking for the types of books that Raven liked. Robin, being a gentleman, paid for all of the books himself. His gesture did not go unnoticed, since Raven had no money of her own. His kind gesture mad her feel that perhaps she was wrong about him, maybe he wasn't that self-centered. She still had the nagging suspicion that something was up, _No one does something like this for me._

When they came back Raven immediately left for her room, to begin her readings. Robin headed for the kitchen, disappointed that she didn't want to spend anymore time with him. He had missed lunch by taking Raven out, and now was very hungry.

"Hey Robin, where've you been man? I was looking for you to help me with the T-Car, but I couldn't find you. I had to use BB instead, and he just made everything worse!"

"Sorry Cyborg, I was… out."

"Since when do you leave the tower for anything but criminals?"

"Since I took Raven to go get more books. She was re-reading some books, so I thought she should get some new ones."

Cyborg gave him a cock-eyed glance, and shook his head, smiling.

"What're you smiling about Cyborg?"

"Nothing man, just… nothing." He had a smug, knowing look on his face. "You sure that's the _only_ reason you took her out?"

Robin was annoyed at Cyborg's knowing look. "Don't know what you're talking about Cyborg, I just did something nice for Raven."

He made his lunch and left to go work out. Down in the weight room he took out his frustration with Cyborg on the punching bag. _What does he know that I don't? All I did was something nice for Raven; it's about time one of us did. So what was he so smug about? And what did he mean by the "only" reason thing? _ He had been hitting the bag harder than he had intended, and the contents started spilling out onto the floor.

"Dammit! That's another one! We don't have the money to keep replacing these, we barely have the money for food!" He was irritated, being super heroes isn't exactly a cash cow, and he had used the last of his money to buy Raven her books. He started pounding the wall in anger. Starfire heard the noise and came in to see him. Looking around she saw the mess he had made. The punching bag was in tatters on the ground. Sand was everywhere. There were holes in the wall, and pieces of debris all around. And in the middle of it all was the boy wonder, shoulders drooped and a look of exasperation upon his face.

"Friend Robin, are you feeling well?" She was concerned.

Startled by the sudden intrusion he quickly looked up, only to see Starfire. Looking into her emerald eyes, he knew that he could never lie to her, she was his best friend, and one of his few friends in general.

"I don't know Star… I just… things are just so difficult. Look at us. We barely have enough food or money to live on, people have stopped sending us money to help pay the bills, the bill collectors don't care that we save their butts everyday, they still charge us. The way things are going we may lose the tower unless we can come up with more money. Beastboy is being useless, he doesn't help with anything, he only wants to get that stupid moped, which we can't afford, and only runs up the bills by buying all his tofu. Cyborg is being an ass, he thinks he knows something I don't. not too mention the huge electric bill he creates. Raven is avoiding us all still, and still doesn't want to talk to us. I tried reaching out to her Star, but she just doesn't seem to care…" _… about me_, he almost added. His voice was full of hurt at the last part.

"Robin…I…"

She moved toward him, feeling sympathy for him. He had been bearing the burden of leading the team for so long, taking care of everyone, and making sure they were all ok. Making sure they always had food and water. Making sure that they had somewhere to sleep at night. Until that moment, she had never known that all these things were eating him up from the inside. She embraced him in a hug, holding his head to her chest.

"Do not worry friend Robin, things will work out, they always do."

Before he would have been overjoyed to be this close to Starfire, but recently, his attraction to her had been waning. Images of Raven flooded his mind, he pretended it was her that was hugging him. Gently, he pushed her away.

"Star… I'm sorry. I don't want you to worry about me."

She was disappointed that he had pulled away. She had finally gotten a chance to be close to him, and he had pulled away.

"Robin, you have just been inside too long. When the storm goes away all will be fine. Everything will go back to the way it was."

A tear slipped down Robin's face. The weight of worry about everyone, especially Raven, was eating him up inside. Feeling so miserable, he couldn't help but cry. Gently Starfire brushed the tear away.

"Thanks Star, but if you could, don't tell the team about this. They don't need to worry about me, about any of this. I'm the leader, I should be able to take care of this." His voice rang with depression.

Starfire was overjoyed that Robin would trust her with his secrets. But she was concerned at the toll his selflessness was taking on him. _Perhaps he needs more hugs, _she thought.

Thunder boomed, this time louder than before. Starfire shrieked, and clung to Robin's arm.

"Storm must be getting worse. I'm going to go talk to Cyborg, see if he knows how long this will last."

Robin removed his arm from her grasp and left Starfire in the weight room alone, thinking to herself about Robin, and how she felt about him. _That was the perfect time to tell him…_

The intercom system in the tower buzzed. Cyborg's voice was heard saying, "Listen up y'all! Weather reports say the storm is gonna last at least a week. Reports also say it's only gonna get worse, so I don't wanna see anyone trying to leave this tower. It's too dangerous out. Robin agrees with me, Titans Tower is on lockdown until the storm starts to let up."

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Please RR, and let me know if anyone wants ch 2 up, i've already started writing it if anyone wants it.

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Fixing a spelling error that bugs me.That's the updatel. And this. And that whole no flame thing. Flame away people. 


	2. Revelations

**The Power of a Storm **

**Chapter 2: Revelations**

The teens had gathered in the common room, discussing the new decision. Most of them were unhappy with it, including the decision-makers themselves.

"A WEEK? I CAN'T STAY IN HERE FOR A WEEK!" Beastboy was the most upset by the news. He had been planning to go get some new Gamestation XL games.

"Dude! I'll go crazy if I have to stay cooped up in the tower!"

"Beastboy, calm down. It's not that big a deal. Although I would want to go get some stuff for the T-Car, it's just getting to bad out. I mean, just look out the window man. Do you really want to go out in that mess?" Cyborg pointed to one of the windows behind the television. The storm had grown much worse since the day before, and now it was impossible to see the city, even in the lightening flashes.

Beastboy gazed out the window, a look of defeat on his face. "…No"

"I thought not."

Although Beastboy was the only one voicing his complaints, the others had them too. Robin was growing restless staying in the tower all the time, he needed to spend his energy on something other than the now dead punching bag. He also needed to pick up a new one.

Starfire wished to get more cooking supplies, as the titans had run out of everything she needed to make some of her favorite meals, as well as the low stock of mustard in the kitchen.

The only one that seemed fine with the new situation was Raven. To her, all the lockdown meant was that she would have more time to read her new books.

Interrupting the silence Raven spoke. "Right… well if Beastboy is done with his pointless bitching about this, I'm going to go to my room."

Robin turned to watch her leave, as well as the other titans. His gaze sunk from the back of her head to the curve of her back, then down further, where his roaming eyes stopped, watching the way her hips moved as she walked. _What am I doing? I shouldn't be staring at one of my teammates like that._ He felt his cheeks start to turn red and he quickly shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts from his mind. Turning back to the other titans he gladly noticed that none of them had seen what he was looking at, or noticed his embarrassment.

"Raven's right Beastboy, there's no point in trying to change my mind. Titan tower is on lockdown until the storm breaks, and that's final."

Beastboy gave a "humph" of defeat and stalked off to the Gamestation, where he could at least win some of the time.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

Closing the door behind her, she gave a sigh of relief. _Finally got away_, she thought. It had been a rough evening and morning for her, having recently discovered new emotions in her mirror. She walked over to the desk and picked up the mirror, teleporting into her mind.

* * *

(Nevermore) 

Inside the mirror the emotions had gathered. The topic on everyone's mind was how Raven was going to treat the new emotions. Would they be ignored like some of the other ones? Raven walked into the crowd.

"What's going on here?"

Courage, a green clad Raven, as always, was the first to speak up. "We were discussing the new emotions."

"…And whether or not you would ignore them, as you ignore some of us" Honesty chipped in.

Raven scowled at Honesty.

"You may be the best policy, but you're always a source of trouble." Sarcasm this time.

"…Have you done anything about _him_ yet?" This voice, sounding like a depressed Raven came from an old emotion that had long been in the mirror, Sorrow. She was clad in gray.

"No, nor do I think I will."

"You have to at some point." Wisdom, clad in yellow.

This statement got another scowl from Raven. A scowl that said 'if you weren't right all the time you wouldn't be allowed to talk.'

"What? You know I am right. You have to talk to Robin, and you have to confront these new emotions." Wisdom gestured towards Sorrow and the new emotions: Regret, Pity, and Guilt.

Regret was a white Raven, with the inside of her cloak being transparent, the outside was white. Pity was a dark green color, and Guilt was a dim red that was almost brown. The three of them had boots and leotards to match the colors of their cloaks. Regret's boots matched the white of her cloak.

"If you ignore them, there will be consequences. Guilt most of all, she has a lot of power, and may cause something that happened with Fear to transpire again."

Raven shuddered slightly, she remembered the incident with Fear, and the problems it brought (A/N See season 2 episode number 18(total): Fear Itself). Slowly she nodded, Wisdom was right, again. She had to deal with this. She had to give Robin the news. _But will he be willing to listen?_ That was the last thought she had as she left the mirror.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

She came out of her mirror to find her room exactly as she had left it. Little did she know that soon it would be much different. She went over to her bed and picked up one of her new books, and began to read in silence, not yet having the courage to confront him.

* * *

(Common Room) 

Beastboy had long since given up on the Gamestation, even it managed to beat him. He left to go take a nap in the trash hole that he calls a room. Cyborg had also left, to recharge his batteries, as well as to do more research on the storm, to give the team a definite answer as to how long lockdown was going to last.

Only Robin and Starfire were left in the room. An awkward silence had fallen. Robin's thoughts had drifted to what he was going to do for the next week, with no punching bag, and his mixed feelings about Raven. Starfire was also in deep thought, but her thoughts were of a different nature. Her thoughts were confined to the boy wonder, and what she planned to do with him now that they were trapped inside for at least a week. The two of them were sitting on the couch, Starfire at one end, Robin at the other. Occasionally Starfire would break free of her fantasies to look at Robin. He didn't return her looks. She would then move a little closer to him, then resume her fantasy for a few minutes, and then move again. Again and again she did this, until they were sitting right next to each other.

Her heart was pounding. It amazed her that Robin could not hear it. Sitting so close to him, she could hear his breathing, and smell his scent. He was wearing cologne. Starfire was surprised, _I didn't know Robin wore cologne._ The smell was making her light headed, being this close was almost more than she could take. It took all of her willpower not to lean over and kiss him. She looked at his hands, now bare. He never wore his gloves in the evening. She then looked at his face, and was dumbstruck. _How could something that beautiful be real?_ She lost herself in his face, in the lines and details of it. The mask held her attention the most, wondering what was behind those white mysteries that covered his eyes. _I'll bet they're beautiful, I wish I could see them, just once._

Robin couldn't take it anymore. He had to do something, talk to someone, about his feelings. He needed someone to tell him whether it was mere infatuation, or if he loved her. Thinking of the possibility of being in love with Raven made a lump rise in his throat. _I need to talk to someone, now._ He quickly and abruptly got up, to go find someone. He headed for the gym, figuring that someone must be in there. As he left, he didn't notice the expression on Starfire's face. The mix of hurt and confusion, and the slight trace of sorrow, that once again she had missed her chance.

* * *

(Outside Raven's Room) 

The door slammed shut behind her. She was going to do this, she was going to confront Robin. _Where would he be?_ The first place to come to mind was of course, the gym.

* * *

(Hallway Outside Gym) 

Robin was walking fast, trying to find Cyborg, he had figured he was the best person to talk to about this. Beastboy would just laugh, and crack a lame joke. Starfire was too optimistic, she wouldn't be able to give him good advice. He couldn't use Raven, obviously. That only left Cyborg.

Raven was walking slow, dread building up inside. She was nervous, and slightly afraid, and willing to admit it. She didn't want to go through with this, although she knew she had to. She didn't want to have to tell him, it might ruin everything.

Neither titan had seen the other coming, they were both too absorbed in thoughts of what to do. It was inevitable that a collision would occur. _Thud._ Robin hit the ground, Raven was just knocked back. She quickly bent over to help him up by offering him her hand. He hesitantly took it, blushing slightly at having contact with her. _Her skin is so soft… it feels…wonderful._ Robin quickly shook those thoughts away and mumbled his apologies. He started to walk away when Raven called out to him.

"Robin… I need to talk to you about something."

_I wonder what. _"Sure Raven, but can it wait a little bit? I need to find Cyborg."

"It can't wait, the sooner the better." Her voice wasn't flat. She was definitely nervous. She tried to cover it up, but Robin could tell.

"Raven…I'm sorry, I can't right now. There is something I really need to deal with, and I need Cyborg's help. Can we talk later?" There was sorrow in his voice. He hated to give up a chance to talk to her, but he needed to sort things out before he did anything he might regret.

"…Fine. Have it your way." She was gaining better control over her voice. Robin still hung to her every word, all his attention focused on that, so he could tell that she was slightly relieved, even if she wouldn't admit it.

"I'll come by your room later, ok?"

"…Just have something to say when you knock this time, alright?" A small smile graced her face as she said this. To Robin it was on of the most beautiful things he had seen. He laughed a little at her joke, and walked by her, on the way to the gym, to see if Cyborg was there, still thinking of her.

He arrived and looked in the door, no one in there. The mess from his fight with the punching bag was still on the floor. _Have to clean that up, but first thing's first._ He left and headed for Cyborg's room next. He wasn't there either. _Where could he be?_ Robin next headed for the room where the super computer was kept. There was Cyborg, typing away, looking up things about the storm.

"Hey Cyborg, I was hoping I could get your advice on something."

Cyborg turned around and looked up, finding his leader standing there, showing weakness by asking for help. He remained silent a minute, thinking to himself why Robin would be doing this.

"I know what you're thinking Cy, this is strictly one guy to another. So don't think of this as a leader asking advice, just a friend."

Cyborg gave a sigh. "Alright man, what is it?"

"…Can we close the door? I don't want anyone else to hear this."

Cyborg nodded and turned back around to work for a few more minutes. Robin walked over and shut the door, and put in the code to lock it, the one that only he knew. The other codes that the other titans knew couldn't unlock this door, not with this code in place. He then headed back over to Cyborg and sat down.

"What's on your mind man?" His back was still turned to Robin.

Robin took a deep breath. _Just do it Robin._ "…It's about… Raven." He had his head hung down, so he hadn't noticed Cyborg wasn't looking.

Cyborg stopped what he was doing. He turned off the monitor, and turned in his chair. "What about her?"

"Cyborg, have you ever… you know… been in love?"

He was unprepared for this. Cyborg had figured the boy wonder was going to be a bit more subtle about this. He almost came out completely with it.

"Yeah… once. It was a long time ago, but I never forgot."

"How did you know? That it was love I mean."

"I didn't. I had to figure it out on my own. I did exactly what you're doing now, I went to someone I trusted and asked them. Do you know what they told me?"

Silence. Robin shook his head. "…No."

"He told me that he couldn't answer that. He told me that love meant a different thing to everyone, and that the only way to know, was to decide for yourself."

Robin looked unhappy, this was not the advice he was hoping for.

"Look man, all I can do is this: tell me about her."

Robin gave him a look that said, "what are you talking about?"

"I know it seems strange, but bare with me. Just do it."

Robin sighed again. "I don't know Cy, she's just so… so… I can't get her out of my mind. No matter what I do, I think about her. And when I talk to her, or sit near her, or be near her, or even think about her, I can feel deep in my heart something like sadness. Only this feels good, and I like having this feeling. I keep thinking about her, trying to perpetuate this feeling. It's…addictive."

Cyborg slowly nodded. It all added up, she made him miserable, and he enjoyed it. He wanted to be miserable. To Cyborg, this meant love.

"Robin… do you feel it now?"

"Yeah…"

"Go tell her man, tell her how you feel. Trust me, getting this thing off your chest makes it better."

Robin nodded, he knew Cyborg was right, and he knew another thing. He knew he was in love, and he knew that he would never feel this way about anyone else. She was the one. He got up to leave and punched in the code to unlock the door. Before leaving he stopped and turned around.

"Cyborg."

"Yeah man?"

"…Thanks. Thanks a lot." A smile crept up his face.

"No problem, no problem at all."

Robin left, to go talk to Raven, and to give her his news.

* * *

Sorry this one was a little shorter, but I wanted to leave a cliffy at the end. :) Will Raven feel the same way?o.0

I've more or less decided, but i'd like your opinions if possible. You know what do to, hit that little baby that says review.


	3. Sorrow

**!TO THOSE THAT HAVE REVIEWED!**

Please read this before continuing, I have something to say to you.

I just wanted to thank those of you that have been reviewing. You guys are why this chapter is here. Knowing that there are some people that like my writing makes me feel great. It makes my day. Thanks so much.

**Cygnus de hielo**: This chapter is for you. You had a great idea, and the funny thing was, was that was already my angle. I appreciate the ideas, I really do.

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* * *

**The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 3: Sorrow**

(Outside Raven's Room)

He swallowed hard. A large lump rose in his throat, making his breathing hard. He could feel the sweat forming on his forehead. His heart was racing, and he had that same feeling in it, the same one he described to Cyborg. Each time his heart beat he could feel the lump in his throat rise. It felt like someone had put a clamp on his heart, and it was beating as hard as it could just to keep him alive. Butterflies were racing in his stomach, he had never felt so nervous before. It was almost enough to make him give up and walk away, to leave the door alone. Almost. The only thing that kept his feet rooted to that spot was the dream of what could be. Images of what things would be like after he confessed his feelings flooded his mind. Walking on the beach, holding hands, heading for a picnic as the sun set against the low hanging clouds. Raven actually smiling, being happy. All because of him. A new image flashed into his mind. The two of them standing alone, in a silent embrace, her head to his chest, his chin resting on her head. Eyes closed, arms wrapped around each other, savoring the moment, the love expressed between them. _It's worth it. _He swallowed hard. _This is it, you can do it._

Slowly, inch by inch his hand rose, getting closer and closer to the door. After what seemed like an eternity, he finally knocked, softly. So softly that she wouldn't have heard it if she weren't on the other side of the door, pacing back and forth in front of it, waiting for him to show up.

Hearing the barely audible noise she stopped her pacing, and paused, thinking that she had imagined it. It came again, a little louder this time. She too swallowed hard, _This is going to be rough on both of us._

The door slid open, revealing blackness inside. This was the second time Robin had seen the inside of her room and the first time he got a good look at it. As his eyes adjusted to the darker lighting, he looked around, seeing a dim glow light the room. Around the room in various places were candles, giving off the dim glow. Against the walls were shelves filled with many books, as well as many things he hadn't expected, including what looked like a stuffed bird. It resembled a raven almost, except that it had big, white saucers for eyes, and looked like something out of a Japanese cartoon.

Lightning flashed again, giving him a better view of the room. Off to the right, almost at the frame of the door, was the woman he had come to see. She was standing with her hood off. Her hands were crossed over her chest, and her cloak was slightly open, giving him a small view of her leotard. There was a blank, emotionless expression on her face, but her eyes revealed another story.

"Are you going to come in or just stand there?"

It took a minute for the words to register, and he felt his cheeks heat with embarrassment at his lack of focus. He moved inside and the door slammed shit. He was now alone with her, this was going to be it. He cleared his throat to speak.

"So… Raven. You said you had something you wanted to talk to me about?" He couldn't begin to hope to hide the nervousness and hope in his voice.

"Yes, and it's about…you. I've noticed that you've been acting a little strangely lately, coming to see me late at night. Taking me to get new books, doing nice things for me, things that no one does. Is there anything that you want to tell me, like why you're doing these things?"

He stood a while in silence. Thinking the answer, the whole truth running through his mind. _It's because I think that you deserve someone to be kind to you, I think you deserve to have the things that make you happy. It's because no one else does these things, it's because of who you are. You're too beautiful of a person to be unhappy, to be alone. You deserve to be able to feel. I did it all because I felt sorry for you. Sorry for the sacrifice you had to make for us. You had to give up your emotions so that we'd be unharmed. You showed an immense amount of love for us and all we can do is ignore you. I did it because I think I'm in love with you._

"Raven… I…" He felt as though his tongue was trying to betray him, to deny to him what he so badly wanted to say.

* * *

(Starfire's Room) 

She had long left the common room, heading for her room to be alone. This was tougher than she thought it was going to be. _What I really need is something to impress him, I need to do something to really get his attention and win friend Robin's heart._ She headed over to her closet, to see what she could find in there that would work. Opening the doors she saw her rack of costumes, and her small dresser next to her chest of things from Tameran. She decided to look into the chest first, to find the perfect gift for him. Down in the bottom, buried under some of her childhood mementos, she found the perfect thing, _He is sure to love it!_

* * *

(Beastboy's Room) 

Beastboy woke up and yawned, then rolled over and found he had been sleeping on the floor. Sleepily he got up and stretched. He started heading for his door, but decided it might be better to go back to sleep. He crawled back to his bed and looked at the digital clock on his pile of laundry. It read 10:00 pm. He closed his eyes and slept.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

She hadn't said anything, she was waiting for him. It was up to him to either confirm or deny what she dreaded.

"I…" The words just wouldn't come._ Breathe deep Robin, breathe deep. You can do this, you have to._

"It's because…" he started again, "…because I just… I just think that…" _You're doing it, keep it up. Don't stop now._ "I just think that you…deserve it. You deserve to have someone to do these nice things for you, you deserve to be happy. You deserve to have someone worry about you, and show that they care." The words just started tumbling out, Raven wondered if he even knew that he had said them.

"You're just special Raven, and I think that someone ought to recognize this, and let you know that, that there is someone out there that cares about you. I want to be this someone. I wanted to show you that I care what happens to you, that I want to make you happy. I want the best for you, I want… I want…you. I want to be with you. I want to share our lives" It was all coming out now. He spoke rapidly, barely pausing to breathe. "I want to share our sorrows, our joys, I want to share myself, and I want to you to share yourself. I want to know about your past, to understand you, to have you confide in me. I want to be able to confide in you, to be able to seek you for advice. I want you to love me…"

Silence. He hung his head down, forcing himself to say so much, to confess it exhausted him.

Raven was dumbstruck. She had been expecting a stupid crush or something, but this something she hadn't expected. _It sounds like he…he…_

* * *

(Starfire's Room) 

She had figured it out, she'd go to his room, and leave a note on his door telling him where to find the gift. She proceeded to get changed into something more appropriate for what she had planned. Instead of her costume she donned a red dress, and put on a lighter green tanktop over the top of it. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail that came off the back of her head and hung down, swaying as she moved her head. No make-up though, as she could not understand why someone would want to cover up their real face. She looked at her reflection in the mirror she had, and was satisfied. She picked up the note and the gift and headed for Robin's room.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

…_He loves me._ She finished the thought, but refused to believe it. It was too much for her. She was shocked.

"Is… is that all true Robin?"

"…Yeah. It's true." His head was still hung down, so he could not see her face. He was blushing too hard to let her see him. If he had seen her face and the look in her eyes, he wouldn't have been embarrassed.

"Robin… I'm…" Now she was the one struggling to say the words that she wanted to say. Her tongue was now committing mutiny. "I… am so sorry." He looked up, and eyebrow cocked, her words confused him.

"I'm so sorry that I have to tell you this, but..." She bit her lip, pausing briefly. "I don't feel the same. I mean you're a great guy and all, but I just can't. Even if I did feel the same, it wouldn't work. You know my emotions are dangerous. I don't feel the same, and I can't. I'm really sorry Robin, I am. But it just can't happen. I can't let it. No matter how much I want someone, someone like you, someone to love and cherish me. I just can't allow myself to shed those feelings. I can't allow myself the pain. I can't. I just can't do it. I don't, and can't love you. Not now, not ever."

It was as if someone had slapped him in the face and then dumped ice water on his head. The shock was incredible. He couldn't believe it. After all the grief he had over this, after all the courage it took to speak up, this is his reward? _No. This can't be true. She's lying. She has to be. She's lying. It's not true. _

"Please Raven, tell me it's not true. Tell me it's a joke."

She sighed long and hard. "…I can't."

Rage built up inside him. His disbelief had turned to anger. He tried to control it, but it was just too much for him, the fact that the only thing he had really wanted, the only woman he had ever loved, had denied him, it made him too angry to suppress.

"FINE RAVEN! FINE!" His rage had exploded out of him. It was beyond his control. "HAVE IT YOUR WAY! HAVE IT YOUR WAY YET AGAIN! I WON'T BOTHER YOU ANYMORE! GO BACK TO YOUR BOOKS, GO BACK TO YOUR SELFISH WAYS! GO AHEAD AND BURY YOUR EMOTIONS, DON'T CARE! I WON'T EITHER! YOU SAY THAT YOU WANT SOMEONE TO CARE FOR YOU RAVEN! BUT YOU DENY THE ONE GUY THAT DOES! YOU'RE SELFISH! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ME! YOU'RE NOT EVEN HUMAN! YOU'RE JUST A HEARTLESS BITCH!"

Silence. He had crossed the line. Calling her inhuman hit a tender spot in her. She never let on about her half-demon heritage, a constant source of her misery, the source of her curse. He stood with his shoulders hunched, breathing hard. He hadn't meant to yell, but her reaction just infuriated him. He looked at her eyes, and all his anger faded away in an instant. Tears had begun to well up in her eyes, and were leaking down her face. Various objects in her room started getting a black aura around them.

"Raven no, I'm sorry. Please no, I… I didn't mean it, I just…"

"**_Go."_** She interrupted him with that one word. All her regret, all her guilt, all her sorrow, and all her anger had been packed into that one word. The sharpness of her word cut into him, Robin never knew that one word could hurt so much.

"Raven…please…"

"GO!" Things started flying off the shelves, heading for him. A book came from the right, aimed at his ribs, while the raven doll came from the left, going for his head. He ducked low to avoid the two objects, but more were coming his way.

"GO! …Just…go" There was no more anger in her voice, only fatigue. The objects heading for him stopped and crashed to the ground. She hung her head down and turned away, pulling her hood over her as she did. She had withdrawn from him, from this whole thing, in a physical and mental manner. The tears fell silently from her face, and she said not one word. She just stood transfixed to the spot.

"Raven… no…I…" He moved towards her, only to be stopped by a magic barrier. There was no use. She started to glide away from him, leaving the barrier behind. The barrier grew in size and started pushing him towards the door. Robin struggled against it, but it was no use. He couldn't get to her. Not now, not after what he had said. He turned slowly towards the door, defeated and started to leave.

He paused at the door, and turned his head slightly. "You know Raven, you can express your emotions." His voice too conveyed fatigue, fatigue and pain. "You just have to accept them. I see you smile here and there, showing some happiness, and nothing would blow up. Your denial of your feelings is what is dangerous, not the feelings themselves." He waited to see if she would respond, but not a sound came from her. He left, letting the door close behind him. He walked to his room, never once looking back. As he came around the corner to his room, a tear slipped down his cheek. He stopped and leaned against the wall, and let himself slump to the floor. He buried his head in his knees. _This can't be real…it must be a bad dream. She wouldn't, couldn't do that. Not to a friend. I can't believe I did that._ He sat in silence, letting the tears fall, waiting for the bad dream to end, beating himself up while he waited.

* * *

(?) 

Starfire had hidden herself where Robin could not see her, but she could see him when he came for his gift. She waited for him to arrive, to take the gift and get the surprise that came with it. She looked at the clock on the wall that read 10:15. _Where is he?_

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

She continued to cry, not caring what broke, or what happened. It broke her heart to do that to him, to break his heart. She couldn't even tell him the other reason she couldn't be with him, her secret. Guilt, Regret, and Sorrow. These were the only things she could feel now. She cried herself to exhaustion, and finally falling asleep, not noticing that nothing in her room had moved since Robin left.

* * *

(Outside Robin's Room) 

He had finally dragged himself up, and slowly moved toward his room. He rested his head against the door, and punched in the code to open it. He trudged inside, not noticing the note that had been taped to the door.

He dragged his feet to his bed, slowly shuffling his way, and flopped down on his stomach. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep, but it would not come. He was haunted by his thoughts. Over and over he went over the scene with Raven, trying to figure out what he did wrong. _I must have given her the wrong impression somewhere. _No matter how many times he tried, he could not find a reason why it would be his fault. He couldn't figure out what he did to make her deny him. He got back up, and removed his clothes. He didn't have the strength to take a shower so he merely pulled on some boxers to sleep in, removed his mask, and flopped back down on the bed. His alarm clock read midnight. Still he could not sleep. He had been tossing and turning for what to him was an eternity. All he could think about was Raven. He kept telling himself that it was over. He would have to move on. There was nothing left to do, but his heart would still ache. It ached in sorrow, and longing. He couldn't help it, he was still in love. It was immature of him to expect that the pain would go away simply because he wanted it to, or that he simply could stop loving her, but he tried to believe it nonetheless. He finally sat up, his mind racked with frustration.

"I CAN'T TAKE THIS!" His sudden outburst surprised him, it was as if his body was acting on its own. He listened to find out if anyone had woken up. All was still silent. He felt better having let some of the pain out in his scream, but his heart still felt like it had been torn in half. Robin got up and headed to his bathroom.

He paused in front of the mirror and gazed at his reflection, shocked at the miserable state of himself. His eyes, no longer hidden by the mask were bright red, barely any white visible. The area around them was swollen and puffy looking and was also a bright red. There were lines of red flesh where the tears had fallen. His whole face felt like it had been sunburned, his skin felt tight and it burned in many places. It looked like his face had had a war with the sun, and lost terribly. He splashed water on his face, to sooth the sting and burn where his tears had fallen.

Robin again looked at his reflection, it still looked like hell. Anger rose in him. _It's not fair. It's not fair! **It's not fair**! **IT'S! NOT! FAIR!** _Angry at what had happened, that he couldn't control his feelings, that all of his misery was her fault, he lashed out at his reflection. He punched the mirror as hard as he could, sending deep cracks all through the mirror.

"I HATE YOU! WHY DO YOU HAVE TO FEEL THIS WAY? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? IT'S JUST A GIRL! WHY ARE YOU SO WEAK? WHY DO YOU CARE SO DAMN MUCH?"

He hated himself, he hated what he saw. The cracks in the mirror only made it worse. Now he could see several Robins, each more pathetic looking than the last. He threw his toothbrush, his comb, his gel bottle, anything that he could grab, all in an attempt to destroy the men he saw in the mirror. He picked up a plunger, and held it ready to strike the mirror one final blow, to shatter his cursed reflection, but hesitated. He saw bits and pieces of himself, saw the expression on his face. Disgust hit him in sickening waves. He let out a sigh, and relaxed his muscles. His arms fell down to his sides, his neck collapsed and his head hung low. The plunger fell from his hand and landed on the floor with a clang. He looked up slowly to see the mess he had caused.

Bottles were broken, the mirror was a spider web, giving bits and pieces of his reflection. The pieces were barely big enough to show the color of his skin. His gel was all over the sink, bits of glass from the bottles had gotten all over the floor, down the sink drain, everywhere. It looked horrible, but the mess still couldn't compare to the way he felt inside.

Robin fell to the floor, into the horrible mess he had created. He lay there curled up in a fetal position, not thinking, not moving. He was simply there. He existed. All his energy had left him, he had nothing left in him. He was a shell of his former self, incapable of action. Finally, exhaustion overtook him, and he slept, right there in the bathroom, lying in his own personal hell that his feelings had made for himself. The clock next to the bed gave a beep. It now read 1:00 am.

Outside the thunder roared. The sound resonated and intensified as it echoed. As the echoes spread the thunder roared again. Windows rattle violently, threatening to break. The sky sounded as though it was being torn apart, ripped into pieces and it was screaming its outrage.

* * *

You all should know the drill, hit the little blue button. And thanks for reading. I really appreciate it. 


	4. Consequences

No name by name thanking this time folks, it's late and I'm tired. But if you did review anything, I appreciate it.

On to the story!

**

* * *

The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 4: Consequences**

It was now noon. The storm was still raging outside, all hope of leaving had long since been abandoned. The storm wasn't the only abnormal thing going on. Inside Titan's Tower, only two team members were about: Cyborg and Beastboy. They were in the kitchen for lunch, and had not seen anyone but the other all day. The last they had seen Raven, Robin, or Starfire was the night before when Raven left for her room to read, and Starfire had been left in the common room with Robin. Cyborg had seen Robin around 9:30 the night before, but he didn't tell Beastboy. The conversation they had was private, he knew Robin would be pissed if he told Beastboy.

"Hey Cy! Have you seen Robin anywhere? How're we gonna do his insane combat practice indoors if he doesn't show up?"

"Haven't seen him BB, or Star, or Raven for that matter."

"I wonder where they could be…" Beastboy started heading for the door. "I'm gonna go find Star, why don't you look for Robin."

"Yo BB, hold up a minute. What about Raven?"

"I'm not gonna get her, you know what happens when you interrupt her, there is _no_ way I'm gonna bother her."

Cyborg shrugged, he knew Beastboy was right, it was best to just leave Raven alone. "Alright, I'll go looking for Robin, let me know if you find Star."

Beastboy nodded and headed off for Starfire's room first, to see if she had just slept in. Cyborg had left for the gym, since Robin was not known to sleep in, ever.

* * *

(Outside Starfire's Room) 

Beastboy knocked on the door and waited. No sound came from within so he knocked harder.

"Star! Open up! It's me, Beastboy!" He was shouting a little to make sure she heard him. "I was just wondering where you were since no one had seen you since last night!"

Still silence. _Maybe she's just a heavy sleeper._ Beastboy tried to open the door but it had been locked. Only Robin knew the override codes for the doors, so there was nothing left for him at her room. _Ok, where else would Star go? Hmm…_He snapped his fingers. _I know!_ He quickly ran off to check his new guess.

* * *

(Outside the Gym) 

Cyborg had checked the gym, surprised to find no one there. The punching bag was still dead, no one had bothered to clean it up. Cyborg looked at the mess and sighed. _Lazy good for nothing spiky-haired punk, making me clean up after his damn messes. _15 minutes later the mess had been cleaned and everything looked in order, except that the gym was still missing a punching bag. Cyborg checked the supply closet next to the gym that held all its supplies, but found nothing. _Oh well, just gonna have to wait until the storm clears. Tough luck for Robin._ Cyborg left the gym and headed for the evidence room next, expecting to find him reminiscing about old times.

* * *

(Outside Robin's Room) 

Beastboy had a hunch that Starfire would most likely be with Robin, or looking for him, so he had come to Robin's room to ask him. There was no one here, but on Robin's door was note. Curious, he walked over to it and pulled it off the door. He recognized the writing on the note as Starfire's and began to read, hoping to get a clue as to where she went.

_Dear Robin,_

_I have hidden a gift for you in a secret location. Attached is a clue as to where to find it. I hope you love it as much as I think you will! _

♥_Starfire♥_

A piece of paper fell out of the note. Beastboy picked it up and looked at it. Only one word was written on it, "Control." _Control? What does that mean? It must be a clue to the room in the tower that she hid it. It might be the control room for the tower, or the super computer room, which controls all the other computers, or maybe it's…_ His thoughts drifted off thinking of all the possible locations that "Control" could be referring to.

* * *

(Evidence Room) 

Cyborg always hated this room, he could never understand why Robin kept these things. He had figured it was just a weird habit he picked up from Batman. Looking around he saw all the "souvenirs" of their fights. Slade's mask, Red X's belt, The Puppet Master himself, and various other things. Off to the left was the wall covered in masks. Cyborg shuddered. _Man this place is creepy. It doesn't look like he's here…_

He took one last look around the room, noticing among other things Control Freak's remote and one of Johnny Rancid's guns. _Not here, where the hell is he?_ Cyborg left the room to search the rest of the tower, not knowing that Robin would be in the last place he would look, his own room.

* * *

(Outside Robin's Room) 

Beastboy was still standing there, trying to figure out Starfire's cryptic clue. _Ok, knowing Star it has to be something she would be familiar with, otherwise she couldn't put the present there. So that rules out the computer rooms, and the main control room. Maybe it's not somewhere that has control, but somewhere you gain control…_

Beastboy shook his head, this was hard. _Hey, maybe it's somewhere that Robin would go, like the gym, or the basement storage, or maybe… maybe it's the evidence room! Robin loves that place, I bet that's where Star hid it!_

Beastboy ran off to see if his hunch was correct, now too preoccupied in his curiosity of what Starfire had planned for Robin to continue to look for her. Before he left he put the note on the door again, in case Robin hadn't seen it yet.

* * *

(Evidence Room) 

The lights flicked on, giving Beastboy a good look at the evidence room. He looked from side to side, seeing all the mementos Robin had gathered over the years. _Dude needs a hobby, bad. _He walked down the rows of glass cases, taking glances at what was inside each. Many of the things he could remember, but some he was sure he had never seen before. He stopped briefly at each until he came to a strangely shaped remote. _What's this? Hey…I remember this, this is that weird dude's remote, what was his name…Something Freak. Let's see, it was one other word. TV Freak? No that's not right. Game Freak? No… Control Freak? No…wait, yeah. Yeah that was it! Control Freak! Hey! Star's note said 'Control' so maybe it has something to do with this remote!_ Beastboy leaned down and put his head close to the glass. So close his nose got squished into his face. Nothing looked out of the ordinary with it. _Maybe I'm wrong._ Beastboy stood back up and scratched his head. _Maybe it's around here._ He proceeded to walk around the case trying to find anything. Down near the bottom of the pillar it say on was a slip of paper, the corner barely protruding from underneath. Excited he picked it up and read what it said.

_Robin,_

_Congratulations on finding this clue, your gift is hidden in the guestroom._

_♥Star♥_

"Sweet! I actually got it right!" Overjoyed at his success he quickly ran for the guestroom to see what the surprise was, leaving this note behind as well.

* * *

(Outside Robin's Room) 

_Only place I haven't checked. He must be in there._ Cyborg knocked on the door, but heard no reply. Waiting for it he noticed a small note taped to the door. _Wonder what that is?_ He quickly brushed the thought away. _You got more important things to be worrying about Cy, there's two missing titans._

"Hey Robin! You in there?" There was no response.

_He's gotta be in there, there's no where else for him to be._ Cyborg pushed a button on his left arm, causing a panel to flip open. Inside was a small cable. He took that cable and hooked it into the keypad near the door. Pushing some more keys on his arm the door slid open. _Dammit Robin, why can't you just open the door like normal people? You know I hate hacking into my own system._ He removed the cable and slowly walked into Robin's room. The door slid shut behind him.

* * *

(Guest Room) 

Lying in the middle of the guest bed was a small brown box with a note attached. The note simply read "Robin." _I wonder what she got him_. He picked up the box and shook it lightly. There was a small rattle coming from the inside. _I shouldn't open it, it is Robin's after all._ Beastboy set the box back down and started to leave, going back to his search for Starfire, when he heard something. A faint noise that sounded like breathing. He stopped and held his breath, hoping to hear it again, and find out where it came from. The soft sound of breathing came again._ It sounds like it's coming from the closet…_

Beastboy walked over to the closet, noticing that it was slightly cracked open. He paused and listened again. _Yeah, definitely coming from in there. _Slowly he lifted his hand up, wondering who or what was in the closet. He put his hand on the door to the closet and slowly pulled it open, revealing a limp figure on the ground.

* * *

(Robin's Room) 

Cyborg looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. This was the first time he had seen Robin's room, in fact, this may have been the first time any member of the team had seen the inside of Robin's room. It was clean, and just like the average room. There was a queen size bed in the corner, and the usual wall sized windows. Everything was clean, not a trace of dust on anything. It was like the polar opposite of Beastboy's room. Looking around Cyborg spotted a pile of clothes near the bed, the only thing out of the ordinary. There was a light coming from an adjoined room. _Oh come on, that's just not cool. Dude has his own bathroom, and makes the rest of us share one with BB. _Slightly angry Cyborg walked over to the source of light, and fell silent. His jaw dropped open and his eyes went wide. Never, _ever_ had he expected to see something like this in their tower.

The scene before him was horrifying. Glass was everywhere, bottles were broken, the mirror was in pieces. In the midst of it all was Robin, unconscious on the floor, lying in his boxers, a pool of blood formed around his hand.

Cyborg flipped open the communicator on his arm and called Beastboy. Beastboy's head appeared on the screen in his arm.

"BB Get over to the infirmary, set things up, Robin's hurt and I'm bringing him in.

In the video image Beastboy nodded. "Right, I'm on it, but what about Starfire?"

"Gonna have to look for her later, this is more important. Get going."

"No wait I-" Beastboy was cut off there by Cyborg closing the communicator. He picked Robin up and left for the infirmary. On the way out he stopped, and picked up Robin's clothes for when he woke up.

* * *

(Guest Room) 

"No wait I-" The signal died. _Dammit, what do I do with Star? _The limp figure in the closet had been Starfire. Beastboy figured she fell asleep waiting for Robin. _Might as well bring her with me, I guess._ Beastboy picked Starfire up in his arms and headed for the infirmary to meet Cyborg.

* * *

(Infirmary) 

_Beep, Beep, Beep. _The machine gave off rhythmic beeping noises to show his heart was still going. Robin lay on the bed, various wires hooked up to him, each to determine what was wrong. Cyborg had put his mask back on him, figuring if he wore it all the time, he might as well have it on now. It wasn't so much a gesture of logic as one of friendship. He knew Robin would be happier if he woke up with it on. Starfire lay on the bed next to him, also asleep. Nothing was attached to her, as far as Cyborg could tell she was just tired.

"So… what happened to him?"

"Don't know. I found him in his room, lying on the floor. It looked like hell around him. I figure he just flipped out and started breaking shit."

"But why? It doesn't seem likely that Robin would just crack."

"I know BB, I know." On the inside Cyborg had more or less guessed what had happened. _This has something to do with Raven, I know it._

"Where'd you find Star?"

"She was asleep on the floor of the closet in the guestroom. She had left a note on Robin's door, telling him that she hid a present for him somewhere. Turns out it was in the guestroom."

"So that was what that little piece of paper was for. Is the gift still there?"

"Yeah."

"Go get it, Star might want to give it to him in person when she wakes up."

"Yeah." Beastboy turned for the door and left.

Left alone with the two patients Cyborg turned to Robin. "Why man, why'd you do this to yourself?" He sat down in the chair next to the bed. "Why did you have to tell her so soon, you knew she wouldn't be able to handle it. What did Raven do that made you do this to yourself?"

Starfire rolled over, causing Cyborg to look over at her. She looked like she was still asleep, her back turned to him. _At least she's doing fine._ If he had seen her face he would have realized how wrong he was. Tears leaked down her face. _Raven did this? Poor Robin, how could she have done this to him? How could I have let her? _Then a new thought entered her mind. _Was he seeing her instead of finding my gift?_

* * *

(Later that day) 

Star had "woken up" around 1:00, and insisted upon waiting for Robin to wake up once she learned of what happened. She chose to stay by his side, clutching the present for him, wishing that he would wake up soon. It was too much for her to bear to see him like this, but it was worse for her to leave him in his moment of weakness. Beastboy and Cyborg had both left, feeling it was best to leave Starfire alone. Cyborg was in the common room, making her something to eat. _Poor girl. She doesn't know how he feels about Raven. _He finished making her lunch and took it to her.

On his way back to the infirmary he bumped into Raven.

"Whoa, sorry there Rae."

"…."

"You ok? No one's seen hide nor hair of you since yesterday, anything you want to talk about?"

"…No."

"Alright, but you know, if you want to talk to someone, I'm here for you Raven."

She just grunted a reply. And started to walk off. _This isn't like her, she's usually real friendly to me, especially after that mirror incident._

"You're gonna have to deal with it some time Raven. I don't know what he told you, but you ought to give him a chance. Especially after what he did last night."

Raven turned back around and gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean. What did he do? What…What happened?"

"Thought someone might of told you by now, Robin's in the infirmary Raven. I found him unconscious in his room around noon and took him to the infirmary. He still hasn't woken up. Seems fine physically, just some cuts here and there. But his mind must be a wreck to do what he did. He completely trashed his own room, broke everything in sight."

She stared at him, disbelief in her eyes. Slowly, she shook her head. She put her hands to her temples and shook faster.

"No. No. It wasn't supposed to be like this, this shouldn't have happened. No!"

She fell to her knees still clutching her head. Cyborg quickly set the tray of food down and ran over to her side. He knelt down and placed his arm around her shoulder.

"Raven, what happened? I know this has something to do with what he told you last night. I need to know what happened. Raven, I need you to tell me. Please."

She just continued shaking her head and repeating the phrase, "This shouldn't be happening" over and over.

"Raven, please. Tell me what happened. It's important."

She still wouldn't answer. A black aura surrounded her and she sank into the floor. Cyborg stood up, now alone, and sighed. _Dammit Rae, why can't you talk to us?_ He picked the tray of food back up and headed back to the infirmary.

* * *

(Infirmary) 

"Hey Star, I brought you something."

He set the tray down next to her on a small table. She still hadn't even acknowledged his presence. Her whole world was confined to Robin. He gave a sigh and started to leave.

"You know Star, you gotta eat something sometime. He'll be ok, don't worry. Robin's a fighter, he isn't gonna give up that easy."

She nodded, tears still flowing from her eyes. It broke Cyborg's heart to see her like this, and to know that it was to no avail. He left, unable to look at her anymore. The thought of her wasted tears broke his heart.

* * *

Sorry if all the scene changes are confusing to anyone, just needed to fit a lot of time stuff in this chapter, but little relationship progress. I know some of you are unhappy with the scene between Robin and Raven, but your worries are unfounded. I can't/won't let my favorite character be miserable for the rest of her life. :)  



	5. Feelings

Only one specific reviewer mention this time, but for the rest of you, i really appreciate it. I am especially grateful to those that were reviewing from the start.

**JPElles**: Thanks for pointing out that error that conflicted with the comic, hopefully this will make amends. This one is yours.

**

* * *

The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 5: Feelings**

(Infirmary)

Starfire had long since fallen asleep waiting for Robin to wake up. It was late, and she was tired from grieving. Her head was resting on his chest, her arms spread across his body, almost like she was trying to protect him with them. The storm had died down some, it was no longer the roaring tempest it had been the night before. The rain still fell hard, but it no longer threatened to crack the skulls of those foolish enough to venture out. The moon was blocked by the thick black clouds so no light shone in the window. The only light came from the occasional flash of lightning, and the monitors attached to Robin.

Slowly and silently the door slid open. The stocky form of Cyborg blocked the light from the hallway. Slowly he slid the door closed, and tiptoed over to Robin's bed, trying not to wake Starfire. As he approached the bed, he heard Robin muttering in his sleep.

"Raven…no. No Raven… no. Please…. No."

Cyborg shook his head. _Poor guy, he's really taken with her. _He looked over at Starfire, still slumped across the Boy Wonder's chest. _Too bad this had to happen. _He picked up the tray of food he had left earlier, still uneaten. It was cold now, he knew she wouldn't eat it. He picked the tray up and headed out to the kitchen to clean it.

Leaving the room he once again took great care not to wake Starfire up. He closed the door and the room returned to the darkness it was before.

The room was quiet now, only the breathing of the two teens and the beeps from the machines could be heard. Robin had stopped muttering and had resumed his silent slumber. Over in a corner, near one of the unused beds, the ground grew darker. Slowly a figure rose from the floor. Raven stood silently in the corner for a minute, her hood drawn over her face. Slowly she glided over the ground to Robin's side. She looked at Starfire sleeping on him with contempt. Using her powers she gently lifted her companion off him, and placed her in the bed next to Robin. Starfire still hadn't woken up. Raven took her place in the chair and sat for a while, watching him sleep. Not speaking, not thinking. She just watched.

"…I'm sorry." She whispered. Gently she took her hand and placed it on his. "If I had known that this would have happened, that you would have done this, I wouldn't have told you. I'm so sorry Robin, this is all my fault." She hung her head down in shame. _If the other titans knew I did this to him, they'd all hate me for sure. I'd lose my only family…_

A tear slipped down her cheek and fell on his ungloved hand.

"Raven…" She jerked her head up to look at him. His eyes were still closed, his voice barely audible. She leaned closer to him, waiting to see if he would say something else.

"Please Raven…just let me prove it to you. It'll be ok, you'll see. I won't let you be alone…not anymore."

Something in her heart stirred. His words, even though they were the delirious words of sleep, touched her. _He really must care to be dreaming about me. _Something suddenly occurred to her. _Wait, why isn't anything going wrong? _Nothing had moved, just like the night before, when she had cried herself to sleep, nothing was happening, yet she was showing feelings. _Why is this? Whenever he makes me feel…it seems to be okay. Was he right? Is this because I accept my sorrow and my guilt?_

Next to her she heard Starfire stir. Letting go of Robin's hand she sank into the floor, leaving the way she came.

* * *

(Next Morning) 

Things went normally this morning, except for Robin not being up. Raven had gotten her morning tea at her usual time, and done her morning meditation. Cyborg and Beastboy had their usual fight over tofu. This time Beastboy had won, since it was only the two of them being cooked for. Everyone else hated the tofu, but no one had the heart to tell Beastboy.

"I'm gonna go check on Robin, you ok in here BB?"

"I'll be fine, just as soon as my tofu waffles finish."

Cyborg looked at the pan in disgust. He hated that stuff, and showed no restraint about it. He left the kitchen and headed to the infirmary to check on Robin.

* * *

(Infirmary) 

When Cyborg arrived he was surprised to see Robin awake, sitting up in bed.

"Robin! When'd you get up? We were worried about you!"

"I'm fine Cy. Nothing's broken…" Robin looked around. "…How did I get here?"

"You mean you don't remember?"

Robin shook his head.

"I found you yesterday around noon, lying in a pile of broken glass and some blood. Looked like you had broken everything in your bathroom and passed out. I brought you here to make sure you were ok."

Robin nodded, slowly, the memories coming back to him. The conversation with Cyborg, the fight with Raven, the bathroom, all of it.

"Raven… where is she?"

"Don't know, probably meditating. Why?"

"I need to speak with her."

"What about Star?"

"Take her with you, I don't want her to hear this."

Cyborg nodded, and picked up Starfire. "C'mon girl, you should be in your own bed."

She gave a small noise in reply and curled closer to his body, still sleeping.

The door closed behind them and Robin was left alone. He sat for a while, thinking over in his mind on what he would tell Raven. Realizing he was still in his day old boxers he got up and started pulling on some clothes. He sat back down on the bed, his elbows on his knees, still thinking.

"…Robin?" He quickly turned around at the voice and saw the woman he had been waiting for. "Cyborg said you wanted to see me."

He nodded and gestured for her to come over to the bed.

"Robin, before you say anything I want to apologize. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have-" He put a finger to her lips to silence her.

"No Raven, it's not. This is my fault, I'm responsible. If I hadn't rushed to tell you, none of this would have happened."

"Robin-"

"No. Let me finish. I owe you many apologies, many more than I can make. I did a lot of things that I shouldn't have, a lot of things I regret doing. The first being yelling at you. I didn't mean to do it, I was just so mad. Mad because you had rejected me, and that doesn't justify what I did. You're not inhuman Rae, you're more human than I am. You are willing to give up your very emotions to keep us safe. That's the noblest sacrifice that anyone could make. No one with a cold heart could do that, most people couldn't do anything like that. You're better than us Rae, better than all of us."

Raven just looked at him, trying to contain her emotions and the thoughts that burned in her.

"I won't bother you about this anymore Raven, it was unfair of me to try and tempt you into a relationship you clearly are not ready to have."

She looked into his mask, unable to tell what he was thinking.

"I wish I could believe you…"

He raised his own hand to his face, grabbing the edge of his mask. Slowly he pulled it off. Raven let out a gasp. His eyes were beautiful. They were blue, and seemed to go on forever into a swirling abyss of vibrant colors that dazzled the eyes of the viewer. She could get lost in those eyes, easily.

"Raven, I want what's best for you, and I now realize that a relationship, that us, isn't what's best." She could see the love in his eyes and was touched. _He deserves to know. _It was her turn to spill her heart, to make amends.

"Robin, thank you. I feel honored to have your affection, I know Starfire would die for it." Robin's muscles tensed at her name. Raven ignored it and continued to speak. "But I know that it would make me happier than I have ever been in my life to be with someone, with you, but the happiness is something I cannot afford. I can't let my feelings hurt you. I realized last night when I came to see you, and heard you talking about me in your sleep, that I do have feelings for you too, but I can't let them out. I can't risk hurting you."

Robin nodded, he wasn't angry. He understood, her love for the team, for him, transcended her desire for her own happiness.

"Raven, I meant what I said. Denying those feelings is the problem, I can help you." After pausing for a moment he added, "If you'll let me."

_I can't, I can't risk him getting hurt. I can't let myself fall in love._ Raven shook her head.

"I'll deal with this on my own. I don't want to risk hurting you, not the one person that appreciates me for who I am."

Robin said nothing, he just stared at her. His gaze piercing her harsh exterior, digging down to the depths of her heart. Without words, he managed to convey his message. _I will help you Raven, I swear it. I won't give up on you. Not now, not ever._

She turned and left the room, forcing back the tears. Leaving him in that room was hard for her, but she still managed to put up a tough front. She paused at the door, and turned her head to the side slightly, just as he had done to her the night before.

"…You should see Starfire, she was really upset over your…condition."

She left and let the door slide shut behind her. Robin lay down on the bed and closed his eyes. _This is going to be hard, but it'll be worth it. I know it is._

* * *

(Infirmary, Lunch Time) 

Cyborg had come back to check on Robin, and make sure all was well, physically and mentally. He had attached some new wires to Robin, and replacing the ones Robin had removed that morning.

"Look's like everything's ok."

"I told you, I'm fine."

Cyborg heaved a sigh and turned to face Robin. "Look, I know this has nothing to do with any physical injury. Something went on in your mind that made you snap, that's why your bathroom is trashed, and that's why you're here. So you going to tell me or do I have to force it out of you?"

Robin remained silent, still sitting on the infirmary bed. Cyborg walked over to him and sat down.

"Look, Star told me something, about how you were concerned about money. Don't worry about it, it's no big deal. Just go ask Batman, he gave us the money to build this place, why not pay for the bills?"

Robin shook his head. "It's not that easy Cyborg, I told him to stop because we were getting enough donations, and because I was tired of having to be in debt to him. He raised me after my parents died, he's the closest thing to a father I have. I owe him so much, I was tired of using him as a crutch to support myself. So I asked to have him withdraw his funding of the tower."

"Robin, if he really is like a father to you, then you shouldn't be afraid to go to him for help. That's what fathers are for, to help you when you need it. We can reduce the cost too, if it's easier for you to ask for less. I'll build a generator for the tower underground. Asking for help isn't a weakness Robin, it's a strength."

Robin nodded and sighed. Cyborg was right and he knew it.

"After the storm clears, I'll contact him."

"Good, and another thing we need to talk about. You need to find a better way to let off steam than waling on that punching bag. It keeps breaking and we both know it isn't working that well." Cyborg gave a small chuckle.

Robin smiled and said, "You're right. _Again_. But, what else can I do?"

"Why not ask Raven to let you meditate with her. I'm sure it will do you both some good." Cyborg winked at Robin and his face burst into a huge grin that almost reached his ears. Robin too gave a grin.

"You need to stop being right so much, it's getting on my nerves." The grin on Robin's face grew into a full-blown smile. Cyborg started to laugh.

The two friends shared a laugh, letting off some tension. As the laughter stopped, neither teen said anything. They merely sat and had a moment of bonding. After a while Cyborg's stomach gave a rumble.

"Time to eat. I'll come back in a while, and do another check. After that you should be able to go free."

Robin nodded, accepting this as reasonable. As long as he was able to leave the infirmary that day he would be happy.

"Want anything while I'm out?"

"Yeah."

Cyborg raised an eyebrow. "What do you want?"

"…Lunch, I'm starving."

Cyborg gave a laugh. "You got it man, you got it."

He then walked out of the room humming to himself, glad to have the old Robin back. Back in the room Robin smiled to himself and lay back on the bed. _Meditating… That would be nice…Maybe it will be good for me, for us._

_

* * *

_Here's that update you all wanted. Keep sending me ideas, you may change my mind on what i am doing._  
_


	6. Plans

Alright all you loyal fans, here's the latest chapter. Thanks for the reviews, i wasn't really sure about chapter 5, i didn't think it was that great personally, but the public apparently thinks otherwise. So, time for them thank you's.

**Chica De Los Ojos Cafe: **You reviewed every chapter so far, and have been the first to do post 'em since chpater 3. You keep me working lol.

**DarkBird1345:** You're a constant reviewer who also keeps me working on this. Way to go.

**Cygnus de hielo: **As always, you give me some encouragement. Thanks for commenting on the writing style, i appreciate being that i rather insecure in my writing skills. (see my bio for what i'm talking about)

**Witch01: **You also keeep me working, you and the above people are why this chapter is here.

**That one guy...** Blasted anonymous reviewers, never can tell if you guys come back. I do try and keep them in character, which is really hard for some (like Beastboy, god knows he can't be as stupid as they make him look on the telly).

**Guest:** Right on, i love cookies. Glad you're happy.

**The Rest of You Who Reviewed Prior Chapters:** Having fans is awesome, don't know if many of you realize it, but having someone, anyone, appreciate something you do is a great feeling. That's one of the reasons i kept going after chapter 2. You guys appreciated it, and it made me feel great. Kudo's to ya!

Btw, since for some reason Document Manager hates asterisks, as well as many other symbols words _**in this fashion**_ are like stage directions, unless in dialogue or a thought train.

**_Horse nieghs, rears up, and paws air_** HIGH HO SILVER, ON TO THE TALE!

**

* * *

The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 6: Plans**

Since Robin had been let out of the infirmary formally that day, everyone was avoiding the subject of what made him snap. Only Cyborg and Raven knew the answer, and they weren't talking. Raven was acting as though nothing had happened, and Cyborg followed suit.

* * *

(Common Room, Night) 

Robin and Raven were doing the dishes after the dinner Cyborg had made. There were a lot of dishes, as always when Cyborg cooked. He had to make enough for four people and then a separate meal for Beastboy. Robin was rinsing and cleaning while Raven used her powers to dry them and put them away. Silence had descended after the others had finished their meals. Beastboy and Cyborg were playing Gamestation while Starfire cheered them on. Whenever he got a chance Robin would steal a glance at Raven, hoping she wouldn't notice. Finally he cleared his throat, trying to get her attention. She continued her work, seemingly ignoring him. He tried again, this time making a louder noise.

**_Ahem._**

Raven glanced over at him.

"What?"

"Oh, umm…"

Raven gave a sigh, _He could at least try to be subtle…_

"Listen Raven, Cyborg had a suggestion for me, since that whole…incident, was caused by stress in his opinion."

"So?"

Robin cleared his throat again.

"So he suggested that I try meditating with you."

Robin waited for her outrage, or her to tell him no, or for her to do something. But she just stood there thinking.

"…Think you can do it?"

He answered quickly, covering his surprise at her response.

"I don't see why not."

"Fine then. Meet me here in the kitchen tomorrow morning at 6. That's when I come for my tea and then do morning meditation."

Robin nodded. "I'll be there."

The dishes were now done and Raven started to leave to resume her reading. Robin opened his mouth to stop her, but thought better of it and let her go. _If you love someone, set them free._ Those words ran through his mind suddenly as he closed his mouth. _What does that have to do with this? I'm not setting her free, I'm just letting her be herself._ Robin walked over to the couch and watched Beastboy get beaten by Cyborg, yet again.

Starfire glanced over at Robin whenever she was sure he was focused on the game. _Oh Robin, why will you not tell my what has happened? I only wish to help you, be with you._ Starfire was starting to lose hope, when she remembered that she never gave him her gift. Quickly she got up and ran out of the room to get it. No one even noticed she had left.

* * *

(Starfire's Room) 

_Ooh, now where did I put it?_ Starfire looked around her room, a worried expression covering her face. _Surely it must be here._ She walked over to her bed, and looked in the drawer of the dresser next to it. Among other things inside that a teenage girl would have, such as a brush, a mirror, and hair ties, there was a photo of her favorite boy, Robin. She picked up the picture and looked at it. It was from when Robin had to date Kitten in order to save the city. Starfire's eyes flared green with rage as she remembered the incident, but remembering what she was doing at the time of the picture made her smile again. In the photo Robin and Starfire were slow dancing, each one looking into the other's eyes passionately. Starfire sighed, _Where have those happy days gone? It seems, as of late he has not been the old Robin._ She gently put the picture back in her drawer and resumed her search. _Ooh, where is it?_ Worry again crossed her face, as she still could not find it. Suddenly it hit her, _The infirmary! I had it when Robin was ill!_ She ran out of her room to go get the mysterious little box.

* * *

(Hallway Leading to Common Room) 

As she had guessed, her little package was in the infirmary, right next to the bed Robin had stayed in. She had grabbed it and was heading for the common room. On the way however she started getting cold feet. _What if he does not like it? What if he laughs at me for this? What if he doesn't…like me?_ Just short of the door she stopped.

"No… I cannot."

She turned around and started to walk away. _You must! Robin is your friend, he will love it! He will love you! _Her subconscious spoke to her, trying to sway her course of action. She stopped walking and just stood in the hall. _Robin is my friend, but what if…_ She continued to think of worst case scenarios for what would happen. Behind her the door slid open. Beastboy looked up from the new portable Gamestation he had gotten for his birthday and saw Starfire standing there holding a little brown box and mumbling to herself.

"Uhhh, Star?" Starfire looked up at Beastboy and gave a small shriek. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing, I am doing nothing!"

Beastboy gave her a sideways glance.

"Heh heh," she forced an awkward laugh. "I uh, must go now. Yes! I must go and feed Silkie!"

Starfire quickly took off around the corner leaving a bewildered Beastboy.

As she came around the corner she leaned against the wall and let out a deep breath. _I must find a way to get this to Robin._ She placed her empty hand on the wall, and pushed herself back to a standing position. She looked to the right and the left, then started walking the direction of Robin's room. When she arrived by his door she glanced over at it, and realized something. _I have never even seen the inside of his room. I wonder what it is like…_

Starfire walked up to the door and placed her empty hand on it, feeling the tough material that made it, imagining what secrets it held. She let her hand fall down the door, towards the floor, where she noticed that the note she had put there two nights ago had fallen. She bent down and picked it up, holding it in her hands and reading the note. A tear fell down her cheek. _He never even found it._ She brushed the tear away, and crumpled the note up. _He will this time!_ She put the package down on the floor, directly in front of his door, where he would have to see it if he came to his room.

She walked away from his room, to go to her own, and tell Silkie about her day, as she did every night.

* * *

(Common Room) 

Now that Beastboy, and apparently Starfire, had left, it was time for Cyborg to get some answers.

"Robin, listen man, I want to know what is up with you and Raven."

Robin looked over at him, a cool look in his eyes.

"There's nothing going on."

"The hell there isn't. When I found you it was the day after you came talk to me about Raven. Something happened to make you do that, and I think, no, I _know_ that she had something to do with it. Not to mention the first person you asking for when you wake up was her."

Robin looked at the floor. _Who cares, I'm fine, she's fine. Everything's fine. No need to go snooping around. _"Like I said Cyborg, nothing."

"Don't you lie to me Robin, I know it. I know that something is going on. Did she turn you down or something?"

Robin's muscles tensed as Cyborg uttered those last words. A movement not missed by his companion.

"So that's it. You trashed your shit all because you couldn't handle rejection. That is crap. Ok? That's crap. Guys get rejected all the time, no reason to go psycho and start tearing shit apart. What you did had more to it than that."

Robin sighed. And lifted his head as if it took all his energy to make that little movement.

"Look, just drop it. Drop it. I'm tired of everyone worrying about me. So just drop it. This doesn't concern you, or any other members of the team."

Cyborg was mad now. He stood up and pointed at Robin.

"The hell it don't! When one member of the team goes fucking nuts and starts destroying everything he can, then passes out on the floor in his own blood, that concerns the team! When one member of the team gets hospitalized, it concerns the whole team! When someone's actions hurt someone else on the team, than you damn well better believe it concerns the whole team! We're a family Robin, not a bunch of friends. Ok? We are a family, and family members do NOT go around hiding things from the rest of 'em, just because they think it 'doesn't concern them'." Cyborg made a mock Robin voice at the end, trying to drive his point home. "You're being selfish. I want to know what the hell happened because I want to help. I want to help you, because we're family, and family helps family."

Again, Robin let out a sigh. "I am tired of you being right, you know that?"

Despite the situation Cyborg gave a chuckle. "I'm sorry for yelling, but dammit Robin, you need to deal with this. You talk to her about meditation?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I did it tonight while we were doing dishes."

"And…?"

He shrugged. "She said yes. Was a little unsure if I was able to handle it, but she said to meet her in the kitchen tomorrow to start."

"Good. Now, next thing you need to deal with is: You still want to be with her?"

Robin gave him a look that said: Are you fucking with me?

"Riiiiiiiight." Cyborg rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I told her I didn't want to force her into a relationship she wasn't ready for, and that I'd try and help her with her powers."

Cyborg gave him a quizzical look. "What do you mean 'help'?"

Robin paused, thinking to himself the consequences of telling him. _She'd probably be mad._ "That's something that I can't tell you, that's between me and her."

Cyborg nodded, figuring it was pointless to press him. "So what'd she say to that?"

Robin gave a smile. "She said that she did have feelings for me."

Cyborg was in suspense now, waiting for the young man in front of him to tell him more.

"And…?"

The smile faded from his face. "That she couldn't allow herself to feel that way, to let me get hurt."

Robin fell silent, silently moping and Cyborg said nothing. Then, out of the blue, he laughed. Robin looked up at him confused. Cyborg laughed harder, holding his hands to his sides.

"Cyborg! Cyborg! What is so damned funny?"

"Whew…" Cyborg wiped a tear away from his eye that came from laughing. "It's just," he laughed lightly again. "It's just that I was figuring from the look on your face that she said something horrible. But think about it, she doesn't want to risk hurting you. Just think about that one little sentence."

Robin frowned. _What's he getting at?_

"So…?"

"So man, she doesn't want to hurt you, but she admitted feelings for you. Sounds to me like something deep. I think you just need to get her to feel comfortable expressing her emotions. You said you were going to help her with her powers, so do it. While she's helping you control your stress than you can help her express her feelings."

Robin grinned, _He's right._

"So what're you gonna do?"

Robin's grin grew bigger. "Oh, I can't tell you that. It would ruin the surprise."

A full-fledged smile broke out on Cyborg's face. "Go for it dude, go win her over, show her you care."

Robin got up and started heading for the door. After opening it he paused, and turned around.

"Hey, Cyborg."

"Yeah?"

"Did you ever have a younger brother or something?"

"No, why?"

"Just seems like you'd make a great one."

Cyborg grinned. "Thanks man, thanks."

Robin nodded and headed through the doorway, to head for the room only he has the code to get into. The door that none of the other titans knew what was behind, the door that was unmarked, and unnoticed, to go prepare for the next morning.

* * *

One last thing, PLEASE GIVE ME SUGGESTIONS! Some of the time i have no idea what i'm doing, since i'm not ready for the things i have planned. I wrote this chapter over and over again, usually just starting over again and going in a new direction. So any arrows along the way are vastly appreciated. I may not listen to the ideas, but having 'em around gets the creativity juices a flowin'. 

So that's it, go about your lives until i post some more.


	7. The Past

Thank you time, for those who don't care, skip on down.

First off, thanks for the suggestions, that really got me going. Not sure if i did listen to anyone, but thanks anyways. i am considering a few for the future, so i don't really need them anymore. If you want to drop 'em, go ahead. Won't stop ya.

**HelpMePlease**: Always great to get new fans. Thanks a bunch!

**gosscliff**: Not bad suggestions, however they are less immediate than i was looking for. And hopefully that good mood was my doing.

**kiersten**: Much obliged, have some more.

**Martson**: interesting, but i may not be so mean to Star. Thanks for the idea!

**Phibbs**: Much obliged, here's another for you.

**Alexa**: Very interesting idea, i may work something out that allows her to express her feelings, although not necessarily another world. Thanks though!

**Witch01**: What is up with the word "rockin"? Guess that's good, or something. Whatever, read and be happy mon ami.

**Chico De Los Ojos Cafe**: Reminds me of "Birthmark." Good since i love that episode. Got to be my favorite. Gonna think about that one. Thanks!

**darkraven1989**: Glad to hear my writing has improved, guess i'm getting more confident or some jazz. Fights are good, but hard to write. May have to stick to romance. Thanks!

**C****ygnus de hielo**: i like the Silkie concept, should throw him/her/it in somewhere. Idea 2 was good, working on that. Also like 4. Gonna think hard on those, try and include them. Thanks for the great ideas!

**robinluver**: Again, i'm probably not going to be so hard on Star, but then again i may feel like an ass while writing so it may happen something like that. Thanks!

Right then, on to the story.

**

* * *

The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 7: The Past**

(Somewhere in Titan's Tower)

Robin walked down the corridor, heading for the unmarked room. As he arrived he found it as he always did, somewhat dusty, barely a light on in the general area. No one came here, it was the perfect place for it. Behind the door was a secret of Robin's that no one else in the tower knew about. He looked to his left, then to his right. There was no one around. He walked up to the door and looked around again. There still wasn't anyone around. He entered his code into the pad and the door slid open. He walked inside and the door slid shut. The corridor was empty, not a soul was around.

* * *

(Common Room, 15 Minutes Earlier) 

Cyborg watched the door shut behind Robin. He turned around shaking his head. _That boy is crazy, always trying to do the impossible._ He headed over to the couch and sat down, picking up the controller for the Gamestation. He turned it on and started to play, but found the game to be dull, and boring. He sighed and set the controller down. Placing a hand on his forehead he sighed again, and slowly shook his head back and forth. _When will my girl come? Where's my special someone?_

* * *

(Current Time, Cyborg's Room) 

Cyborg was sitting on his bed, head hung down, elbows resting on his knees with his hands hanging in mid-air. The lights were off, the room was cast in an eerie light from the various LEDs of his computers. He glanced over at them, the machinery responsible for him being alive. _Who could love this anyway…_

He looked around the rest of his room, seeing nothing but technology. There was nothing human here, no trace of the man that he was partially. The only thing that came close was the weights in the corner. _Why do I even have those, my human muscles are gone. All I have is mechanical muscles, and they can't improve. There's no point to those weights. _Cyborg stood up and walked over to his desk, picking up his image-inducer. _That was the only time I felt like someone could love me, back at the H.I.V.E Academy. But even then, it was all lies, all of it. I…Stone, wasn't real. I had a good thing going, I had Jinx. Then it all fell apart, all because of Blood._

He could feel anger rising in him at the thought of Brother Blood. _Blood, that bastard. He made me feel like it was real, that Stone wasn't an illusion. He ruined everything at Titans East, he read my blueprints, and he tried to ruin my life. Jail was too good for him._

Cyborg stood up and punched the wall, sending his arm deep into it, up to his elbow. _Dammit! This isn't fair! Fuck this! Fuck being alone and miserable! I haven't felt this shitty since…since…_

"…Her."

He pulled his arm out of the wall slowly, the memories coming back to him, back when he was normal, back when he was still in school, back before his mother died. Tears fell from his human eye. _Mom understood me, Mom was always there for me, giving me advice, helping me. _The tears came heavier now, remembering his mother. _Why did she have to die, why couldn't he save her too?_

* * *

(Three Years Ago, The Residence of Silias and Elinore Stone) 

"Hey mom, I'm home!"

"Hey honey! How was school?"

"Fine."

A younger version of Cyborg had just entered the suburban home, but this Cyborg was different, he was completely without robotics, he was human. He was not known as Cyborg, but as Victor Stone. His mother Elinore was standing in the kitchen preparing a snack for him for when he arrived. On the counter were some papers from S.T.A.R. He knew that his father worked there and his mother worked with him.

"Did you talk to her today?"

"Yeah Mom, I did."

"And what'd she say?"

"Nothing, I just said 'hi'."

His mother frowned at him. "Vic, honey, you need to tell her how you feel. You'll never be able to be with her unless you do."

Victor nodded, he knew his mom was right, like she always was.

"It's ok to be afraid to do it hun, but sometimes we all have to do the things we're afraid of. Doing the things we're afraid to do helps us grow, and helps us to be happy in the end."

"It's just… I can't mom. I just can't. Every time I talk to her, the thoughts of what I want to say go running through my mind, but the words just don't come."

Elinore walked over to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be ok, when the time is right, you'll be able to tell her."

* * *

(Current Time, Cyborg's Room) 

Cyborg wiped away his tears. _Don't think about her. She's gone, the past is the past, let it go. _As hard as he tried he could not forget her. She was everything to him, she was his mother. He couldn't forget. _Why'd she have to go?_ He sat back down on his bed, and threw himself onto his back. Staring at the ceiling he wondered if anything that special was going to happen again.

* * *

(Midnight, Somewhere in Titan's Tower) 

A door slid open, and a lone figure slowly emerged. Robin moved out into the hall and the door slid shut behind him, locking itself. He quickly walked off in the direction of his room, being careful not to make enough noise to wake anyone up.

* * *

(Outside Robin's Room) 

Robin turned the corner to his room and saw a discreet box sitting in front of his door. He walked over to it, and picked it up, trying to find a tag. On one side he saw a small note that had the name "Robin" scrawled onto it. He looked around, trying to find a clue as to who left it here. There was nothing around so he just took it with him into his room.

Unbeknownst to him, around the corner opposite the way he came, lay the crumpled note that Starfire had dropped earlier that night.

* * *

(Robin's Room) 

Robin sat down on his bed, holding the little box in his hands. He looked down at it, trying to decipher who it was from. _It's got to be from someone in the tower, no one else can get in. Could it be from Beastboy? No…that's not his style. He wouldn't do it unless it was my birthday. Cyborg? Maybe…but I don't understand why he would. Perhaps it was Starfire. No, Star and I are just friends. Friends don't just give guys gifts for no reason. Then maybe it was… Raven._ A streak of hope ran through him at this prospect. _I bet it was her, after all, she did say that she had feelings for me. Maybe this is her way of safely expressing them for me. I should do something for her too…_

Robin sat in silence for a minute, ignoring the still unwrapped present. _I've got it! Before she comes to get her tea and meditate tomorrow I'll leave it for her. It may not be her style, but my sincerity will get to her, I know it._

Robin got up and removed his clothes, to sleep in his boxers as he did every night. He headed to his now restored bathroom to brush his teeth and do various other things in preparation for bed. As he came back to his bed he once again saw the unopened box. He yawned and stretched his arms. _Tomorrow, I'll open it tomorrow after breakfast._

He put the package on his nightstand and pulled off the covers to his bed, slipping in to a peaceful nights sleep.

* * *

(Next Day) 

Raven walked down the hall from her bedroom, heading for the small kitchen the Titans had in the common room, to get her morning tea. Opening the door she found the room dark and empty. _Figures. Knew he wouldn't show up._ She flicked on the lights and headed over to the stove to prepare the herbal tea she loved show much. As she came around the island that was the stove she noticed something lying on the burner. There were three black roses sitting there, with a white card attached by a small black bow. Raven picked up the card out of curiosity, and was surprised to find her name on it, written in a fancy style, similar to what one would find on a wedding invitation. She opened the card and read the text.

_One for your beauty,_

_One for your brains_

_And one for how happy I am to be able to know you_

The writing inside the card was the same as the outside. Raven blushed and reread the little card. _Who left this here? Was it…_

"Morning Raven."

Raven looked up to see Robin coming in, smiling to himself. He saw the expression on her face and looked over to the roses.

"I take it you like them?"

She looked down at the roses, then at the card in her hands.

"You did this? Why?"

"I think you know why Raven."

"But…where did you get these? I've never seen a black rose before, and the tower has been locked down. The last time you went out was with me, and you didn't bring any home. So where _did_ you get them?"

Robin smiled. "That's my little secret."

Raven smirked and hit his shoulder.

"Come on. These are so beautiful, I have to know where they came from. You ought to care enough about me to tell me."

Robin shook his head. "Sorry, can't tell you."

Raven frowned at him.

Robin laughed. "I can't tell you, but I can show you."

Raven cocked an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean, we're locked in Titan's Tower."

Robin smiled again. "Come on, follow me."

He grabbed her hand and led her out of the common room, the tea and meditation forgotten in her desire to know where such a beautiful and rare flower came from. He led her down several flights of stairs to the unmarked room he had visited the night before. He stopped at the door and turned to face her.

"If I show you, you have to promise not to tell the team about this. I've kept this a secret for a long time, and I trust you enough to show you. Think you can do that for me? Keep this a secret?"

Raven nodded. "Yes, I can keep this between us."

Robin nodded. "There is one other condition, but I'll tell you about that inside." He put his hand on the keypad next to the door and put in his special code. The door slid open and warm air rushed out to meet their faces. Robin gestured for Raven to enter and she slowly walked in. Robin followed after he, making sure the door shut completely.

* * *

(Inside) 

Raven couldn't even gasp. Her mouth just hung open and she gazed at the room in silence.

"Robin… This is… incredible."

Robin let out a smile. "So now you know where they came from, and where I disappear to sometimes."

Raven nodded dumbly. She was still in shock that Robin, the boy wonder, mister hardcore villain hunter, would keep something like this. She looked around the room again, taking in the beauty of it. It was lit by a yellow orb meant to simulate the sun, it went from east to west across the room, right now it was in the east, rising up. The whole floor was grass and wildflowers of all colors and sizes. Off to the left, in the corner closest to her was a small pile of boulders, with moss growing on them. Small bunches of flowers grew in the area around them, with grass in the space between. Some newly grown flowers were poking through the gaps in the rocks. Next to the rocks was a koi pond, with several large koi swimming around in it. A small stream entered the pond from the right, heading towards the wall farthest from her, where a small waterfall fell from the ceiling corner down into another small pool. There were fish in there as well. On the bank of the stream closest to the wall, reeds were growing and Raven could hear the croak of frogs coming from within. Next to the waterfall was a rosebush that was covered in thousands of black roses, each more beautiful than the one next to it. The rose bush took up the whole wall, with more small flowers growing at its base. The right hand wall had a small mound at the foot of it, going from corner to corner alongside it. It was covered in honey-suckle plants. The corner on her right was also filled with honey-suckles, as well as a few small rocks. The middle of the room was only wildflowers and grass. A few butterflies floated here and there in the little grassy room, peacefully going about their ways.

Raven looked back at Robin.

"How…?"

He smiled again, pleased at her reaction to all his hard work. "Well, when the tower was built I had Cyborg include this room in the plans, saying it was for storage. In reality though, I always had a passion for gardening, and wanted a whole room to do it in. So I made it so only I knew the code to get in, and started to work on cultivating all these plants."

Raven nodded, she too had her secret passions. "And the waterfall?"

"The waterfall works off of a pump system, water is run in at the top, and the large pond has a small hole at the bottom with a mesh screen over it. The screen is there to keep rocks and things in the pond, and the water flows freely through the screen into a chamber underneath where the water is forced into a pipe system where it is filtered, then pumped into the waterfall, where it comes out and repeats the cycle."

"Robin… this is brilliant. I love it. It's just…incredible. I can't believe you did this all yourself. What about the air in here? It's so different from the rest of the tower."

Robin pointed to a small duct hidden above the waterfall. There's an air filter in there, it keeps the humidity up, and maintains the correct balance of molecules in the air.

Raven nodded again. "Incredible…" she whispered.

"The sun… is it just like the real one?"

Robin nodded. "It moves along a wire track across the room, at the same speed as the real sun, and produces similar light. When it reaches the west end it hits a series of triggers that cause it to shut down slowly. It then moves back to the east end over night, by the time it reaches there it's time for it to rise again. Another series of triggers causes it to light up again."

"Incredible…"

To say that Raven was awestruck by the room was an understatement. She was captured and held captive by its charms.

Robin smiled to himself. "Remember the other condition I mentioned?"

Raven nodded, still enraptured by the scene before her.

"It was that from now on, while we're meditating, that we do it here."

Raven looked over to him, amazement still on her face. She looked back to the peaceful scene before her. She looked back at Robin and nodded.

"Of course, I mean, this place. It's just… it's perfect."

Robin smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

He moved closer to her and slowly put an arm around her shoulder, resting his hand on the shoulder farthest from him. He waited to see her response. Aside from an involuntary tensing of her muscles from being touched, she seemed fine with it. He drew her towards him and grabbed her other hand with his free one. Raven tilted her head onto his shoulder and continued to watch the room before her. Robin was sure she could hear his heart pounding in his chest, but if she could she didn't respond to it. He let out a deep, contented sigh and gazed with Raven into his own little taste of paradise.

* * *

Whew, busted my ass to get this one out. I was distracted all weekend by my recent purchase of a Sega Saturn. More Cyborg focus here, something i wasn't ever planning on doing, but it just sort of happened. Think i should focus on Beastboy some or no? Hope y'all liked it.  



	8. The Gift

This has to be my latest update yet folks, i was having some serious writer's block over this chapter.

**

* * *

The Power of a Storm**

**Chapter 8: The Gift**

(Outside the Garden, 10:00 AM)

Robin and Raven left the secret garden after enjoying a morning's meditation. Raven looked over at Robin and gave a faint smile.

"You really took to it Robin. You had great focus and seemed to have no problem maintaining it. Cyborg was right, this was a great idea, it seems to already have an effect on you."

Robin blushed faintly.

"Well, it's only because I have such a good teacher…"

His attempt to pass off her compliment was not ignored.

"Robin, don't take your accomplishments away from yourself. All your life people will try to take them from you, don't take them from yourself. Have pride in it. You did great."

She reached over to his hand and squeezed it gently. Robin looked into her eyes, the thoughts burning in his mind. _I love you, I love you, I love you…_

Raven let go of his hand and started to walk away. She turned her head to look behind her as she walked.

"Come on, it's time we got something to eat."

Robin shook his head to clear his mind and jogged after her.

* * *

(Common Room) 

Raven was rummaging through the various cupboards looking for something to eat, while Robin was on the opposite side of the small kitchen doing the same.

"So this is when you normally eat?"

"Yes, at this point everyone is gone to spend the morning doing whatever, and I get time to myself to eat. Plus there's no fuss over tofu or meat."

Robin chuckled. "I should have thought of this years ago."

"How about some eggs and toast?"

"Sounds good, I'll go ahead and make it."

Raven nodded. "Call me when it's ready, I'll be reading."

Raven left for her room to get a book and then come back to wait for breakfast/brunch.

Robin started cooking, whistling to himself. For the first time in weeks he felt great. _Cyborg really was right, that did wonders. I haven't felt this great since, well, ever._ Robin flipped the eggs in the pan, he had decided on fried eggs for the two of them. _And Raven's warming up to me, everything is turning up roses._ Robin took a minute while the eggs were cooking to stretch. Letting out a yawn he glanced over at the wall to wall windows that covered one side of the room. The rain was still going, but at least the thunder and lightning had stopped for the time being. _Too bad that storm still hasn't cleared up. _Another thought occurred to Robin,_ How long have we been in here? Three, four days? _He took a minute to stop and figure it out, thinking back to the night he had Cyborg announce it. _That was the first night, so that means it's been… yeah, three days. Today is the fourth day. Didn't he say it was going to be a week?_

Robin was shaken from his thoughts by the smell of something burning. He looked down and let out a yell. The eggs were on fire, and the fire was spreading to his apron. At that moment Raven came walking back into the room and saw the scene before her: Robin hopping around the kitchen trying to blow out the fire that had started on his apron, the pan still sitting on the stove, smoke coming out of it. She laughed and Robin looked up.

"…Oops."

"Nice Robin, nice. Let me give you a hand."

Raven moved her hand and the pan flew in the direction her hand went towards the sink. She then used her powers to turn on the sink and put out the eggs.

Robin had put out his apron and was now looking at her sheepishly.

"Sorry Rae, I guess a burned our breakfast."

"It's ok, just start again. We've got time enough."

Robin nodded and got out new eggs and a new pan to try again.

"Oh, and Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"Scrambled. I like my eggs scrambled, not fried."

Robin smiled and went back to work.

Fifteen minutes later he had managed to successfully make a breakfast suitable to be eaten. He pulled out the table they used, conveniently stored in the side of the kitchen's island.

"Raven, it's ready."

Raven looked up form her book to the kitchen and saw the little setup he had made her. She looked back down at her book, finished the paragraph she was on, and placed the book down on the couch, marking her place with a small bookmark. She walked over to the table and sat down. She was about to scoot her chair in when Robin came around and placed his hands on her chair.

"Allow me."

Raven shook her head. "Always playing the gentleman, eh Robin?"

"Only when the lady deserves it."

His comment earned another small smile from Raven.

He sat down across from her and swept his arms over the table. "Dig in."

After breakfast was done, the two teens were doing the dishes as they had the night before. The only difference this time was that Robin was no longer making pathetic attempts to earn her attention.

"So Raven…"

"Yes?"

"Notice anything?"

She looked over at him and shook her head.

"No, why? Have you?"

"Let me rephrase that. Have you noticed anything… unusual this morning?"

She frowned, _What's he talking about? Does this have something to do with the storm, because anyone can tell it's getting better._

"No, not anything unusual."

"Really? I have, and it has something to do with you." He pointed at her and gave a small grin.

Now Raven was really stumped. "Alright, quit messing around. What are you talking about?"

Robin remained silent for a few minutes, smiling while he worked. He was trying to tease her and get on her nerves, and it was working.

"Robin, tell me. What in the world is so unusual about me this morning? Tell me or else!"

She tried to glare at him, but she was too distracted by her irritation with him, and only made a small grimace that wouldn't even scare Beastboy.

Finally Robin gave in and set his dishes down. He turned to face her and spoke.

"You've been feeling this morning."

Raven remained silent, the words not yet taking full effect upon her.

"You've been expressing feelings, and nothing has gone wrong."

It dawned on her, he was right. Throughout the whole morning she had been with Robin she had been expressing some feelings, and nothing had blown up.

"I'm still here Rae, nothing happened. I was right."

She nodded slowly. "It's true, nothing has happened."

Robin grinned. Raven spoke again.

"I remember that when you proposed the idea of meditating with me, I went to my room that night and thought about it. I realized that I felt…excited at the idea of spending that time with you. I thought about denying these feelings, to protect you, but then your words rang through my head. _Your denial of your feelings is what is dangerous, not the feelings themselves_. I thought about it, and how that one night, when I accepted my fear, I regained control. Denying my fear made it all happen, so I decided that I should just accept the idea of wanting to be around you. And I guess it worked, nothing happened. I guess you were right that night."

Robin nodded, pleased that he was able to bring her to this realization.

"What do you think about this, meditating in…there, and doing it with me?"

Raven paused a moment, then opened her mouth to speak.

"I think that… I'm going to be happy, and that everything will work out. I think it's going to be good for us."

_Us. _Robin smiled the biggest smile he had ever smiled, and moved toward Raven. He put his arms around her and drew her close. She responded and wrapped her arms around him, rubbing her hands on his back, her face resting on his shoulder.

"Robin…"

"Yeah?"

"…Thank you."

She looked up to his masked eyes and smiled, not a small smile, or a grin, but a full-fledged smile. It was the first time he had ever seen her do this. Looking into her sparkling, lavender eyes, and the beautiful smile on her face, he could not help but smile back.

"The pleasure's all mine Rae, it really is."

Robin could feel his heart swell with happiness; this had to be the best day of his life yet. He felt as if no one could be this happy, nothing could ruin this day. Sadly, he knew that as much as he wanted, he could not spend his whole day standing there holding her in his arms. Some time he would have to let his dream girl go. With an impossible effort he removed his arms from Raven, gently pushing her away so that he might resume his duties. He turned his body to resume the dishes, but kept his eyes locked on Raven. For a brief second he was sure he saw hurt in her eyes that he had withdrawn from her. She turned away from him, going back to work herself, trying to hide the feeling inside her.

_Now's the time to talk to her about it. _"Raven?"

She turned her head to look at him.

"Thank you for the gift."

She gave him a strange look. "What gift?"

It was Robin's turn to give a strange look now. "What do you mean, 'what gift?' The one that you left outside my door last night."

"I didn't do that Robin."

"But… I was sure that you did it. Are you sure you didn't? You're not messing with me or anything, right?"

"Of course not! What? You don't believe me? I told you, I was in my room last night, meditating." She had turned to face him, her arms at her sides, one hand clenched into a fist, angry that he didn't trust her words. Her face was set into a look of anger. The sponge began to glow.

Robin held his hands up in a defensive gesture. "Whoah, whoah, chill Raven. I didn't say that. All I wanted to know was if you really weren't the one that left it there."

Her fist slowly relaxed, along with her whole body. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm sorry. I just have an issue with trust. Ever since…her."

Robin nodded, he too remembered the pain Terra had brought them.

"…What was in it?"

Robin gave a sheepish grin and rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah… the thing about that is…"

"Yes?"

"I don't really…know."

Raven cocked an eyebrow at him. "Okay, if I get this right, you found a present outside your door. You thought it was from me, and you didn't open it? Wow, way to show you care."

"Hey! It's not like that! I thought it was from you, so I decided that I should do something for you too, so I spent the rest of the night arranging for this morning. Then I was too tired to open it."

"Where is it now?"

"In my room."

"Going to find out what it is, and who sent it?"

"Only if you come with me."

Raven gave a small grin and hit him gently on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go."

She walked off and Robin once again found himself staring transfixed at her as she walked. His eyes followed the feminine curves of her body. _She's so beautiful…How could I never have noticed her before?_

* * *

(Robin's Room) 

Raven looked around his room, slightly bemused. It was a lot plainer than she had figured. She looked at his large bed, and the small nightstand that held a lamp, and a small brown box. She gestured to it.

"Is that it?"

Robin nodded and walked over to it. In one motion he picked up the box and sat down on the bed. He motioned for Raven to sit next to him. She silently complied and sat a short distance from him, maintaining her space. Robin looked down at the present, his eyes defying its mysteries, trying to figure out from whom it came. The two sat in silence, Robin staring downward into his lap at the gift, and Raven remaining silent, waiting for him to act.

"Robin."

He lifted his head to look at her, to find a faint smile on her face. She reached up and squeezed his shoulder. He nodded and looked down to the present. Slowly, his hands moved toward it, trembling slightly, and began to tug at the plain wrapping. The only sounds in the room were the breathing of the two teens and the tearing of the paper. Bit by bit the wrapping came off, exposing teasing glimpses at its contents. Raven looked at his face, his brows furrowed in focus, sweat beads forming on his head.

"Robin, relax. It's just a gift."

He looked at her and gave an embarrassed smile.

"You're right."

"Inhale deep." Robin complied. "Hold it. Now exhale slowly." He let out his breath.

His hands were steady now, he was calmer, more relaxed. He finished unwrapping it and let out a gasp. He looked over to Raven, her eyes were wide and her mouth open.

"I know who gave this to me."

Raven slowly nodded, amazed by the small thing of beauty in his lap. _She gave this to him? Then that means… she…she must…_

_

* * *

_I put a lot of fluff in there for all you fans of Robin and Raven. Raven seems to becoming more of a mentor to him now, even advising him. No Beastboy, only a mention. He may or may not appear before the end (which i do have planned), but they may change as I have not yet figured out completely how to get to the end.

I thought I'd do something different this time and put the thank you's at the end.

**Angel Of The Dawn:** Awesome, glad I was able to expand your horizons a bit. That makes me really proud.

**Darkbird 1345: **Always around eh? Glad i can count on you for some good vibes.

**Chico De Los Ojos Cafe: **Glad you liked the garden, i really want something like that in my house someday. I love nature, and i thought Robin might too.

**Raven Of The Shadows Azarath:** Happy?

**robenluver:** I am far from an expert, but thanks for the compliment.

**Witch01:** Way to write that one off. Yeah, things are going to get a little rough on Star soon.

**yumechan03: **Glad you liked it.

**darkraven1989: **Of course i answer the reviews, what kind of ass ignores his/her fans? lol

**robinstar: **Well... it is a _romance_ story. lol. I try hard to give an idea of how much he loves her, and showing her one of his deeper secrets and passions is something i thought would work great.

**me is here:** Right on, glad you like it. I try hard to make it good enough for you guys.

**Cygnus de hielo:** I find it funny that you say i write Cyborg well, since i'm not really trying with him. But ok, if it works then I guess it works. I owe you a HUGE debt of thanks. I had almost finished this chapter, then i got your review. I wrote almost the whole thing COMPLETELY ignoring the present. That would have made one lame chapter in my opinion. Thanks sooooooooooooo much. That's why this chapter took so long, i had to completely rethink the whole thing.

**sarah:** It's on my list. Don't feel bad, i bought the damn thing, and publically mentioned it on the internet during a piece of writing. How do you think that makes me look?

**Kitsune6: **As i have said, i try hard to make this good for you guys. I deny homework and fresh air to get these thigns up, so it really helps me out to know that y'all like it.

* * *

Ok then, that is that. 

'Till i update again, send some thoughts my way, or read that other thing i wrote. Not sure if it's any good, but mleh. If enough people like it i may continue. I do have _some_ ideas if i were, but if i don't continue it, well then i'll just write something else.

O hey! If i don't update by then, have a happy St. Patricks Day!


	9. Love Exposed

**!NOTE!**

There is an important message for all you readers down at the bottom, but DO NOT read it until after you read this chapter. Otherwise you get some serious spoilers.

**!NOTE!**

Ok then, in retrospect I don't like those thank you's at the bottom, so back to the top with 'em.

**DarkBird1345:** Glad that you like it, it makes me feel great to know that.

**Martson:** (Hoping you're alive to read this...) Suspense is useful. I HATE reading suspenses, and having to wait to know what's going to happen next, but as the author, it's really useful. Keeps you people around. No good writing for people that aren't there.

**Dark-Canine69:** Basically the same thing I said to Martson. It's mean, but it's useful. And I do hate reading them too.

**Witch01:** Holy ass, killing everyone with suspense aren't I? lol. Think about what you asked as you read. Not sayin' nuttin' else.

**Chica De Los Ojos Cafe:** Damn you reviewers, you guys are getting good. Or am I just predictable?

**Cygnus de hielo: **Got lots of stuff to say to you. First off, son of a mother of a. Maybe I _am_ predictable. Well that's no fun. T.T Secondly, always great to meet another TF fan. Thirdly, your idea: a good one, but not quite the angle I'm heading. Next up, Cyborg. I don't think it's so much that I have a talent for writing him. I say this because of how I write the characters. For the most part (there are always exceptions) I have my scenario, and I think of what, based on the episodes I have seen, that character would do. So that might be why Cyborg works so well. Or I have talent, whatever. Second to last thing: glad I made you feel better. If all I do is entertain the reader then I'm not doing enough. In my opinion, literature is meant to strike some part of you, make you feel sorrow, or joy, or something else. If all I can do is entertain you enough to keep you reading, then like I said, I'm not working hard enough. So i'm glad that my writing made you feel better, because that tells me I'm doing something right. Now the last thing I have to say to you is that I want to converse with you more often than just when I update or you review. So send me an e-mail (can find my address in my profile.). I say this because you have got to be one of my favorite reviewers, and are one of the people that really keeps this story going. Plus all your ideas seem to be in the general area that I'm going. Now you don't have to do that last bit if you aren't comfortable with it, that's cool. But should you do so, just stick your signing name (Cygnus de hielo) in the subject.

**LittleCreature:** Bloody hell people, everyone is in suspense. And yeah, I did forget for one chapter. It was always my intention though to have that thing remain unopened for so long.

**JPElles:** LOL. You can chalk it up to being cooped up for so long, and sorry if he isn't manly enough for you. But I'm trying my best to make him into a young romantic. Masculinity tends to get sacrficed when that happens. Probably would be ashamed of him, but then again, perhaps he's just trying to be his own person. Or not. Whatever.

Read on all you peoples

**

* * *

The Power Of A Storm**

**Chapter 9: Love Exposed**

(Robin's Room)

Robin looked up from the gift to Raven. He opened his mouth to speak but the look in her eyes told him not to. What he saw scared him. His fear was not of her, or what she might do, but of what she was feeling. _The eyes are the window into the soul. Didn't Shakespeare say something like that?_ If he was right, then Raven's soul was not a happy place at the moment. In her eyes Robin saw so many things, fear, doubt, worry, jealousy, and many other emotions that are beyond words to describe.

"Raven?

Her gaze never left the now unwrapped gift in his lap. She didn't respond to his voice, it was like she was in another world. Gently Robin reached over and tried to comfort her. Before he could touch her she sank into the floor, leaving the boy wonder alone with the cause of all his current problems.

"Fuck."

For a long time Robin didn't move, didn't speak, didn't think. All he did was sit and breath.

"Fuck."

What now? I have to find Raven, and deal with her. But I also have to deal with Star. How do I tell her without hurting her? Can I do it without hurting her?

Robin moved his new possession over to his nightstand. Standing up he crumpled the wrapper into a ball.

"God dammit Star, why'd you have to do this now?"

On his way out he threw the ball into his trashcan. Before he left his room, he took one look backwards and stared at his nightstand.

"Fuck."

He shook his head and left, leaving behind the gift that could have only come from Starfire. Lightning flashed, the resulting light hitting it, casting various shapes around the room, of every color of the rainbow. The shapes faded and Starfire's gift faded back into the dark. The dark did it no justice, only the faint glow from his LED clock gave a portion of the beauty of it to the world.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

Raven was sitting on the edge of her bed, as far away from the door as she could get, her back turned to it. _It's all over now. Who would choose me over her? He's going to abandon me, run away, just like all the others. It's going to go back, back to that hell of a life. The pain, the fear, the ever constant threat of my own feelings. How can it go back so soon?_

Raven looked up to the ceiling, then down to the floor.

"Why do you taunt me?"

* * *

(Outside Starfire's Room) 

Robin stopped by her door, on his way to see Raven. _Maybe I should talk to her now…_

At that moment Beastboy came walking down the hall, a plate of tofu in one hand, and a blank CD in the other. His head was slightly down, looking at his CD. He looked up to see Robin standing at the door of Starfire's room. That one look told him all he needed to know.

"Don't do it Robin."

Robin's head snapped up at the sudden noise, eyes small slits, his muscles tensed. Seeing Beastboy he relaxed, but still remained slightly on guard.

"Do what?"

Beastboy shook his head. "You know what I'm talking about. Don't tell her dude, not yet."

_So he knows… but how? How could he know so fast? Cyborg!_ Robin's face twisted into an expression of anger, a look of hurt at broken trust. Seeing his leader's expression Beastboy quickly set his tofu and CD on the floor.

"Whoah, whoah. Don't get all crazy on me. I'm just saying, wait until the storm is over. I don't think I could stand seeing you two all over each other for the next three days."

_Together..? So that means he doesn't know. Good, better keep it that way. _Robin feigned a blush.

"Guess you're right Beastboy."

He noticed the CD on the floor. Pointing to it he asked, "What's that?"

Beastboy looked down. "Oh that. That's a brand new, pre-release version of Mega Monkeys 5."

Robin frowned. "Don't you dare try working that on Cyborg's computers again."

Beastboy blushed, for real. A bead of sweat slipped down his head. "Heh heh, yeah. Right, I think I know better now."

Beastboy picked up his tofu and game and walked off to go have a night of his own version of fun, unaware of the hell that awaited Robin from both the ladies residing in Titan's Tower.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

She was now lying on her side, staring blankly at the wall. She only had one thought. _It's over._ She felt herself start to slide off the bed, but didn't care. She continued to stare at the wall, unable to control the feelings in her heart. With a loud thump she fell to the floor, lying there motionless. She could feel a small amount of pain from it, but ignored it. Physical pain was the least of her problems at the time.

A gentle knocking sound came from her door. She remained lying in the same position she fell in, not even hearing the noise. A muffled voice came from the door.

"Raven?"

_Robin?_ He knocked harder, and spoke again.

"Raven? Are you in there? I need to talk to you. Please open the door."

She moved her head a little, but still made no effort to open the door. She knew what he wanted to say, and she didn't want to hear it. In her mind the words she dreaded echoed, never fading away. _I love her, not you…not you…not you…_

"Raven! Please! Open the door! I don't want to have to break in, I just want to talk to you."

She managed to muster the energy to speak.

"Go…away…"

Silence. Then a series of beeps, and the door slid open. Robin took one look into the room and saw the crumpled body of Raven lying on the ground. He rushed over and kneeled by her side.

"Raven! Are you okay?"

She only mumbled some incoherent response. Shaking his head, he scooped her into his arms, and placed her on the bed. He sat down next to her, his back to her.

"Raven. Listen to me please."

She rolled over on the bed and now had her back to him.

"No. I don't want to hear it. Go tell _her_, go pour your soul out to someone that cares."

Her words cut into him like knives.

"Rae… please-"

"Don't call me that." She was blunt and her voice was hollow.

"Why won't you listen to me?"

"Because I don't want to hear about _how you're sorry for leaving me, and how you'll be seeing Starfire now, and how you hope it doesn't bother me_." She made a mockery of his voice, hoping to hurt him more.

Robin shook his head sadly. _She just doesn't get it._ He got up to leave, there was no point in staying here. Words meant nothing to her. He could only prove it by action. Before leaving the room he stopped, to once again deliver the last word.

"It's not about her you know. It's about you. You're the one that sets my soul on fire, not her. You're the one that has depth, the one of mystery. She's too simple for me Raven. It's not her I love."

He left, letting the door close behind him. Raven remained on the bed for a few moments. Then she slowly sat up and looked at the roses he had given her that morning, now in a vase across the room. _It's not her he loves…_

* * *

(Starfire's Room) 

She had remained cooped up in her room since the last night, afraid to face Robin and what he might say. She regretted giving him that gift. It was something she could never receive again, there was only one in the universe. She had given him her most precious belonging, the symbol of her heritage. She had given him the ring that her mother gave her on her deathbed. She moved over to the crib in the corner where Silkie slept. He was sleeping at the moment, taking his afternoon nap.

"My lucky little bumglorf. You need not worry about such things do you?"

She heard a knock at her door and shrieked.

"Star? Open up, it's me, Robin."

Robin! Oh joy, he has come to see me! That means he found it! But… what if he does not like it? Oh no! He has come to tell me that he does not like it and is returning it!

"Star?" Dammit. Not her too.

Starfire moved to the door, her hand trembling as she pushed the button to open it.

"Hello friend Robin. What is it you wish of me?"

She tried to fake a smile, to convince him she was okay. He frowned at her, but ignored her strange behavior. He had grown accustomed to her strange ways, she was from another planet after all.

"I wanted to talk to you about that ring you left outside my door last night."

Starfire's eyes grew into huge green saucers. "Oh that! Yes, yes, please come inside so that we make speak of it!"

She pulled him inside and slammed the door shut, making sure no one had seen or heard him.

"Star, why did you give me that?"

She was taken back at his immediate course of action. He wasn't wasting time.

"It is because…"

Robin cocked an eyebrow, waiting for her to finish.

"…Because… My mother gave me that ring, before she died. I never knew her that well, I was raised by my Kinorfka, so I never knew my mother that well. Before she died she wanted me to have that."

Tears had begun to well in the young woman's eyes as she thought about the sad story of her mother.

"No one could hope to recreate the intricate details of that ring. The designs were made long ago by the best artist on Tameran, as a gift to the first queen. It was her wedding ring. It has been passed down in my family for generations untold, each mother giving it to her favorite daughter. When my mother gave it to me, it was proof that she loved me, even though she never got to see me grow up. That ring is the only thing of hers that I have…had."

"If it was so important, then why did you give it to me?"

"It is because…" She gave him a tear filled smile. "You are important. You are important to me."

Robin's eyes grew wide, stretching the fabric of his mask. "Star… are you… are you trying to say that you…" He swallowed hard. "… Love me?" He had always known that she had a crush on him, but love? It was too much to believe.

She nodded slowly, tears still falling down her cheeks. She let her head fall down, and she just stood there, in a pool of her own sorrow and embarrassment. She felt something brush away her tears. Starfire looked up to see Robin standing right in front of her, close enough for her to kiss. He wrapped his arms around her. She put her hands on the arch of his back, a feeling of content growing inside her. She tried to draw him closer, to feel his body against hers, but he resisted and broke the hug. He looked up into her eyes, seeing the tears that only amplified their beauty.

"I'm sorry Star. I'm sorry you had to lose your mother."

She nodded slowly, he understood her grief. He too had lost his parents when he was young.

"I'm sorry for something else."

Fresh tears began to form in her eyes. She knew it was coming. He hates my gift I know it.

"What you gave to me was beautiful. I've never seen anything like it. That's how I knew you gave it to me. Nothing like that could have come from Earth."

Starfire gave a weak smile, this was not what she was expecting.

"But…" There's always a but, isn't there? "… I have to give it back. I cannot accept something that your mother gave you. Not on her deathbed. It's too important to just give to some boy."

"But Robin-"

He held his hands up to silence her. She would have none of it though, and brushed his hands away.

"You are not just some boy Robin. Not to me. You are the leader of the Teen Titans, you are young, and strong, and handsome," Starfire blushed at that part. "And you have dedicated your life to helping those in need. You are not some boy, you are a hero." She added softly, "You are my hero."

"Star…"

He raised his hand to her shoulder. "I had no idea that you felt so strongly for me. That's why it breaks my heart to tell you that I can't return your love."

Starfire's eyes grew wide. She shook her head dumbly. No. No, this cannot be so.

"My heart belongs to someone else Star. It belongs to…" He took a deep breath. Tell her. "It belongs to Raven."

Starfire backed away from him, still shaking her head back and forth. It was like she was in a bad dream and couldn't wake up. She kept going until she hit the wall with her back. She fell forward onto her knees, her head slumping down, fixing her gaze to the floor. "No… please Robin, no."

Robin knelt down beside her, his arm over her shoulder, attempting to comfort her.

"Tell me the truth Robin. Tell me that you love me, not her. You cannot love her, you cannot." She spoke without looking at him, her eyes glued to the floor.

"I'm sorry Star, but I do."

Tears fell free from her emerald eyes. He had broken her heart.

"Please leave. I wish to be alone." Her voice rang with hurt.

"I'm sorry Star, I really am."

She finally looked at him. "If you were truly so sorry, then you would not have done this to me. You would not have broken my heart."

Robin's mouth opened, but no words came out. She turned her gaze back down to the floor.

"Star…"

She didn't respond. He gently nudged her shoulder, but she still made no sign that he was there. For the second time that day Robin left a young woman's room defeated. This time he had no last words for her.

The door closed and Starfire heard only one word from the other side: "Fuck."

* * *

Want to know something readers? Writing this made me sad. I hate to be cruel to Star, but for the sake of the story I had to do it. Things will get a little better for her, if only a little. 

Now I _know_ some of you are upset over the total lack of detail on the ring, and I'll tell you right now. That's on purpose. If I were to actually describe it, or at least what I personally imagine it to be, then there would be someone who would be dissappointed, given the amount of attention that little thing has earned. I left the description out so that you, the reader, would have your own personal image of it. So that it looks like whatever you think is beautiful. If some of you don't like that, well tough. Just use your imagination, (it may be hard, but you can do it) and come up with your own description for it.

I'd like to take the time to announce that the end of my story is nigh. That's right, it's all going to end. By my figuring, it should only be another 2 or 3 chapters. I have my ending all set, and am ready to start writing it. No more suggestions are needed, but if you want to give 'em, go ahead. But please be aware that they will be most likely ignored. I think that everyone will be happy with the end, at least those that have been reading thus far. Not sure what i'll do when this is done, but I will continue to write.

My next update will most likely be a little while, i'm going to be working hard on those last chapters, to make sure that I address all the issues that have been presented. That means I'll be rereading all the chapters, making sure everything gets resolved. My hopes is that the end will knock your socks off, and for those not wearing socks...well damn.

Review _mes amis.  
_


	10. Insight

Guess I lied.

**DarkBird1345:** Guess you win.

**Witch01:** Agreed.

**Chico De Los Ojos Cafe:** You win also. Sorry about Raven, but she's better now.

**LittleCreature:** Guess I'm doing my job pretty well then. Rightious.

**Cherry Jade:** I appreciate you saying all those things. Good to know it's liked. The wait is over then.

**robinstar:** NOT THE LAWYERS! Hate those guys. Not a waste of time really, it's cool and all to get suggestions, I love reading what you guys think should happen.

**Cygnus de hielo: **Good to hear you had a good day. Fears of Raven being emotionless again eh? Well read this chapter. Yeah. Poor Robin. Life is hard for him. lol. I object to the great writer part. I'm just some guy. Only reason I do so good is because I write these chapters whenever I feel like crap. Can't write unless something's wrong with you. Damn straight I'm right about the ring. lol. Yeah... time isn't exactly something I have a good concept of. Jokes are always great to end with. Especially in a sad chapter like the last one. I was being kind of sarcastic with the predictability. I know a lot of things surprise people, but the overall direction I'm heading seems to catch on. Damn straight I'm right about literature too. lol.

**darkraven1989:** Why don't _I_ have Nightmare Before Christmas socks? Looks like you get your fix of my writing sooner than expected.

**la feiasta in me pantalonies:** Good to hear that you like it.

**Lightning728:** I am honored to know that my story was the first that you reviewed. I am very glad you were able to identify with Robin. That's great to know that the characters are realistic enough to do that. You're not a kissass, I'm too humble to have an ego. I just like kidding with you readers. It's fun. Criticism rocks btw. Robin's garden. Interesting point. He is very much portrayed in one way, and one that would make the garden highly unlikely. I however believe that first off there's a side that we don't get to see. And secondly, he cannot be that serious all the time. Otherwise he would have some sort of mental breakdown (like what happened). I use the garden as something he would do to let off steam, for something to help relax him. Now he has meditation though. Raven's reaction: My opinion, and why that happened, was because Raven seems to lack a lot of confidence in her dealings with other people, apologizing for things that are not her fault, etc. Plus it seems likely to me that when something good is going for her (Robin) that when something threatens it, that she thinks it'll be taken away. Because thinking about her past, not much good stuff has happened to her. Her mother's gone, father's a demon, that sort of thing. It seems likely that she doesn't expect a good thing to last. Missing chars: Good point on Terra and the others. I never really pinned down a time for when this story takes place, but in my mind I figured after Terra had been turned to stone. The storm is why there are no criminals. Plus it has only been about 5 days or so. Got to remember, this is one nasty ass storm. The kind where if you go out you'll get pneumonia, or some other disease, really quick. Hurricane weather really. Not as long as this.

**whitewolf33:** Wtf does Speedy have to do with this? lol. There _might_ be something in here that addresses those concerns.

Story time.

**

* * *

The Power Of A Storm**

**Chapter 10: Insight**

(Day 5)

It was like the past was repeating itself. It was morning and only Cyborg and Beastboy were out in the kitchen making breakfast. Cyborg knew where Robin and Raven were, but neither of the two had seen Starfire since the night before, when she just disappeared at some point after dinner. Beastboy was sitting at the island that separated the kitchen and the living room, a plate of tofu in front of him. Cyborg was next to him, his plate full of ham and eggs. Beastboy turned to Cyborg and spoke.

"Dude, this is not cool. This is the second time this week that we're the only ones out here. I am so sick of being inside! It's bad enough we have to be cooped up in here for another two days, but does the same thing have to keep happening? It just makes it seem longer and more horrible!" While he talked he gestured wildly with his fork, adding emphasis to his words.

"Calm down BB. It's ok, Robin is off with Raven, they're meditating somewhere. As for Star, she probably just slept in again."

"Yeah right! That's what you said last time about her, and then I found her in a closet!"

"What was she doing in there anyways?"

"Don't know, had something to do with a gift she left for Robin. Speaking of which, I saw him outside Star's room last night. He had a weird look on his face and was just standing outside her door thinking or something. I thought he was gonna tell her."

Cyborg shot the milk he was drinking out his nose. "SAY WHAT!"

Beastboy gave him a funny look. "Relax, I told him not too. I'd hate having the two of them being all lovey-dovey while we're trapped in here." Beastboy twisted his face into a grimace at the thought of Robin and Starfire being trapped inside, alone after confessing love for one another.

Cyborg wiped the milk off of his face. "Damn BB, don't do that to me." _Robin must have something to do with this then. Hope he didn't tell Star about him and Raven._ "I'm gonna go check on Star, make sure she's just sleeping in, okay?"

Beastboy nodded and resumed eating his tofu. He muttered something to himself about how "the poor guy don't stand a chance."

* * *

(Starfire's Room) 

She had finally fallen asleep. The night had been long and unforgiving upon her body and spirit. She was on top of the bed, lying on her stomach. In her hand she held a photograph that had been torn down the middle. She rolled over, swinging her arm of her body. Her palm was now face up and the image in the picture was now visible. It was the picture of Robin she had found the night before, the tear going directly down the middle, stopping at his chest where the rip had drifted to his heart.

A knocking at her door woke her up, and she slowly stumbled over to it, still clutching the torn photo. She opened the door and looked into the face of Cyborg.

"Cyborg? What are you doing here so late at night?" She made no effort to be cheery, her voice echoed fatigue and sorrow.

"Star, we've already had breakfast. Me and BB didn't see you this morning, and the last time that happened…well…"

Starfire nodded slowly, she knew what he was talking about.

"I just thought I'd come check on you. You know, make sure we weren't having a repeat of last time. You ok? You look pretty tired, sound tired too."

She closed her eyes slowly and nodded, all her movements were slow, like she was struggling to stay awake.

"I am…fine."

Cyborg paused a minute, unsure of whether or not now was a good time to ask her. _No time like the present I guess._

"Star, BB told me Robin came by here last night. Did you talk to him?"

Immediately Starfire's eyes widened and she seemed to wake up completely.

"Thought so. Did he tell you…anything important?"

Tears welled up her eyes, thinking about the previous evening made her heart ache like it was in a vice.

"No, no… don't do that."

Cyborg moved towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't cry Star, I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I brought that up."

Her tears broke free from her eyes and ran down her cheek, falling off her face and onto the floor. She dropped the photo and it fluttered to the ground. Cyborg pulled her to his chest, placing a hand on the back of her head. Gently he rubbed her head, muttering calming things.

"Shhh…it's ok. There, there…it'll be ok."

"I am…sorry."

"Shh… it's ok. Just go ahead and let it out. Let it all out."

Cyborg looked out her window, staring off into the storm, watching the rain fall down the windows like the tears on her face.

* * *

(Robin's Room) 

Robin's stomach grumbled, crying out for food. He had been sitting on his bed for the last couple of hours, unable to leave his room. He was afraid of facing Starfire, and he was tired of dealing with Raven. Half his own team would most likely be unwilling to speak to him. So he remained, sitting on the bed, staring at the floor. The noise from his stomach finally made him move his eyes from the spot on the floor. He now looked down at his own stomach. He was hungry, and wanted food, but was unwilling to leave. A number of times he thought about leaving, but his body would not obey him. It remained rooted to that spot. So he sat in silence and misery, his mind shifting through the memories of the previous night, trying to figure out what to do. His stomach grumbled its outrage again, but he still remained in that one spot.

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

The room was empty. Raven had long since departed for her mirror, for Nevermore. Inside she had been dealing with her feelings for Robin. Sorrow was her strongest emotion now, Courage was the weakest. Fear too, held much power. Her confidence had been shattered. She feared Robin would leave her, no. She didn't fear this, she knew it. She feared its coming. The mirror on her desk rattle slightly, and soon Raven appeared back in her room. She heaved a sigh._ That didn't help at all. Worthless emotions._ She went over to her bed and sat down, staring at the floor. She mirrored Robin, unwilling to get up, unwilling to move. She too feared Starfire now. She was the source of all her misery, and all her future misery. She sighed again, and let her eyes roam around her room. Her gaze stopped on the vase that held the roses. _"It's not her that I love."_ _Words. Sweet, sweet words. They mean nothing._ Raven stood up and walked over to the roses, fingering them gently. _Star will be very happy with him._

* * *

(Common Room) 

Beastboy had long since finished his breakfast and was finishing up the dishes. Cyborg had not yet returned. Placing the last plate in its proper place Beastboy turned to the windows. He too yearned to be outside and free again. He wanted to once again be able to soar among the clouds as an eagle, free of the lives of man, free of the problems and fears and doubts that went with being human. Even if it was only while he was out, he loved that feeling. It couldn't be compared to anything else. Beastboy inhaled deeply, then slowly let it out. _Just a few more days._

* * *

(Robin's Room) 

He had finally forced himself to stand up. _I can't just stay in here forever. I have to leave some time._ Robin finally made his way over to the door, and taking a deep breath, left his room to go deal with the onslaught of his teammates.

* * *

(Common Room) 

Robin entered the room, expecting to find either Starfire or Raven, but Beastboy was the only one there. He was staring out the window into the rain, a detached look on his face.

"Morning Beastboy."

Beastboy turned around and looked at Robin. "Hey."

He turned back around and resumed looking out the window.

"What're you looking at? There's nothing out there."

"Nothing really, just thinking."

Robin nodded to himself, deciding not to press it. He headed over to the kitchen and made himself something to eat. All throughout his meal Beastboy just stood there, staring out the window.

"Beastboy, are you okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"…I'm fine. Just waiting for the storm to be over, that's all."

"We're all waiting for that. Only today and tomorrow, then the storm should break."

"Yeah…"

"Just try and stay cool until then, okay?"

Beastboy nodded, then he turned to face Robin.

"You're lucky you know that?"

Robin blinked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean Star. She loves you, you know. You're lucky to be able to have someone to love you."

Robin was speechless. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know whether to tell him about his feelings for Raven, and their relationship, or how he doesn't love Starfire, or how he broke her heart.

"Sometimes I wish there was someone like that for me, someone alive."

Robin stayed silent.

"Kind of funny isn't it? After all this time, the first girl that has interest in me, turns out to be working for Slade. And then she gets turned to stone. Wonder what that says about my future."

Beastboy chuckled slightly, but it was forced. He knew there was nothing funny about it.

"Beastboy… I'm sorry about Terra. We all are. We will bring her back. If for nothing else than for you, so that you can be happy."

"Don't be sorry for me Robin. Be sorry for yourself. After all, you're the one in love with a girl that loves you too, but you're both in too much denial to tell each other."

Robin was amazed, behind all the jokes and goofy antics, Beastboy was remarkably perceptive, even if he did have the wrong girl.

"Go be with her dude. If only for a little bit, but a little bit is better than never. As long as you have that one moment, then you'll always have the memory of it. And that's a memory that will always be with you, even if she isn't. Sometimes the memories are the best part, you know?"

"Beastboy…"

Beastboy waved his hand in Robin's direction.

"Just go deal with it. Go be happy."

Robin grinned and walked away. Pausing at the door to give his characteristic last words, he turned to Beastboy.

"Thanks."

Beastboy again gestured for Robin to take off, and the boy wonder left. Beastboy turned back to the windows one last time.

"God knows some of us should be happy."

He then turned and headed for his room, to go look through his book that held his memories with her.

* * *

(Outside Raven's Room) 

_How many times now have I stood here?_ The number escaped him, it seemed like he spent most of his time here, outside her room, waiting to go in, or to speak to her. _No time like the present._

* * *

(Raven's Room) 

She heard a knocking at her door, and set down the book she had. She had not been reading it, merely staring at the words. Her mind was filled with other things, she had no focus for reading. She walked over to the door, and paused for a moment before opening it.

"Robin."

"May I… come in?"

Raven stepped to the side, allowing him to enter. Closing the door she turned to face him. She said nothing, only stood and waited for his words.

"I wanted to talk to you about last night."

_Feel free, I know what you'll say._

"I think you have this whole thing wrong. Even after what I said, I'm not sure that you believed me."

"What's there to believe? I told you, go to Star." She turned her back to him. "Go ahead. I don't care. Just don't torture me like you keep doing."

"Raven…"

He moved towards her, placing his hands on her shoulders. He spun her around so she was looking at him.

"Why don't you get it? Why do you lack confidence in yourself?"

She lowered her head to avoid his gaze.

"What makes you think I'd leave any chance of being with you for Starfire?"

"It's because…"

She still wasn't looking at him. He curled his index finger and placed it under her chin, pushing her face up gently. She kept her eyes down, still not looking at him.

"Raven…"

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again she was gazing at him with her sapphire eyes.

"It's because I'm…afraid. Afraid that you'll leave me like everyone else I loved."

She paused for a moment, her cheeks hot with embarrassment. "It's silly I know…"

"No it's not. You aren't the only one that has had loved ones leave. My parents died, and left me alone. But the thing is, I won't leave you Raven. Not now, not ever."

She smiled briefly at him, wanting so much to believe his words.

"What about Starfire?"

He visibly stiffened. It was coming, she knew it.

"I told her last night, how I felt about you. And how I can't return her love."

Raven's eyes grew wide. "You did that? But, why?"

"Because it's not her that I love, remember?"

Raven smiled a full smile for the second time in her life.

"I wish you'd do that more often. You're smile is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen."

Raven blushed and gently shoved his shoulder.

"Get out of here you."

Robin smiled as he left. "See you at dinner Rae." He flinched for a moment, remembering her words from last night. "Sorry."

She shook her head. "It's ok. I kind of like it." Her face still held that same smile that set Robin's heart aflame.

Robin finally left the room, for the first time he didn't have anything else to say to her on the way out. He smiled to himself as he walked down the halls, and hummed a tune to himself. _Lockdown worked out pretty good in the long run._

_

* * *

_Conflict resolved. And hey, how about that Cyborg/Starfire scene? Who saw that coming? That ought to teach you people to guess my plots.

Beastboy has depth! Holy crap!

Turns out, reading back some of those other chapters, I've mostly covered everything. Which rocks. If you guys know something I'm missing, that has never been resolved (aside from the obvious RobRae relationship, and Cyborg) then let me know.

Think that might be it.

Oh right. Knocking your socks off. I have a feeling I may end up eating those words. Or not. Matter of opinion. Ending will definitely be liked. And if it don't knock your socks off, then dammit I'm gonna find you and do it myself.

Later readers.

* * *

False update alarm, fixing spelling errors. Thanks Cygnus. Those things bother me. 


	11. Confession

Before I thank you reviewers (most of you) I have something to say. Since I took down my message of no flames, I've gotten a couple. And that's fine, I'm okay with people hating my story. What I am not okay with is the (forgive me for using this term) retarded way in which you tell it to me.

When I took that down, I was expecting people to not like my story, and to tell me that. But what I expected was for a reasonable, intelligent statement of that. I was not expecting people to be going "OMG FUAGHOT! ROB NO LUV RAVIN HE LUV STARFIRE!" and crap like that. It's fine if you hate my story, you're entitled to that opinion. But if you're going to tell me that, do us all a favor. Don't be a fucking dumbass. It is not hard to say "I'm sorry, but I don't like your story on the grounds that the Robin and Raven pairing should not happen." That's fine, I'm okay with people saying that. That is a reasonable, intelligent statement. If all you can do is shout like some fucking moron about how you're so caught up in your own ways to even try to accept a new way of thinking, don't even bother to tell me about it.

So the RobRae pairing isn't right. Big fucking deal people. It's my story, I created it, I own it, I can do whatever the fuck I want in it. And if you don't like it, then you don't have to read it. There are better uses for your time than going around insulting people's work because of one little hang up that your immature ass can't get over. God forbid I try something different, _that's for the commies and terrorists._

I work hard on these chapters, I put a lot of time into these, when I should be doing something else. But I do it because people like it, and they want me too. If you're going to piss and moan about how you hate one little thing, I might as well just say fuck it, and not finish the story.

Now all you flamers most likely won't see this, or will probably ignore it. I should stick this at the start of the story, or something like that. It'll get ignored no matter what, so why bother even typing this? I bother because this kind of shit bothers me. Get the fuck over yourself and start accepting new things. If you can't do that, you're fucked for life.

For you other reviewers, I'm sorry you have to read this.

* * *

**Darkbird1345**: I am very proud to know this is one of your favorite stories. 

**Chico De Los Ojos Cafe**: Glad that was unexpected. There's this chapter, and then the next one. Then it's done.

**Witch01**: Glad it seemed reasonable. I was trying to make that seem logical, and not just be throwing stuff in for the hell of it.

**Cygnus de hielo**: Still waiting to hear from you btw. You may or may not have noticed, but I corrected those spelling mistakes. Thanks. That whole "holy crap Beastboy has depth" statement was making fun of my own story. I know he does have some, I just haven't shown it for most the story. Made your fear go away eh? Now I feel kinda bad for this chapter. I listened to that song, it was good. Thanks for sharing. If you want to hear one that also kinda strikes that relationship note, try Entre Nous or Different Strings. Both are by Rush.

**gosscliff**: This chapter should take care of those thoughts. And I don't have a chair, I use a laptop. So I usually write these on my bed. lol.

**firehottie**: The wait is over then

**TigerLily4111**: Glad to hear you like it.

**Lightning728**: Not the last chapter, that was the third to last. This is the second to last. You'll know when I'm done. Glad to hear some good feedback on the Beastboy scene.

**robinluver**: That is a very nice happy ending, but the one I have I think works just as well. I liked reading the suggestion, so thanks for giving it.

Story time folks.

**

* * *

The Power Of A Storm  
**

**Chapter 11: Confession**

(Hallway)

Robin felt the urge to thank Beastboy. It was his advice that patched things up with Raven. Still humming to himself he headed for the common room, where he last saw Beastboy, not knowing the surprise that awaited him.

* * *

(Common Room) 

Starfire's tears had finally stopped, and it had taken most of Cyborg's willpower to coerce her into leaving to get something to eat. She had finally agreed, on the premise that Robin wouldn't be there. That was how Cyborg found himself attempting to cook while still trying to make sure Starfire didn't do anything in her depression. She was sitting in a chair, but her upper body was lying flat on the island. She heaved a sigh.

"Come on Star, I know it hurts, but you gotta let go. Holding onto what could have been will only make it worse. It hurts, and it takes a while but you-"

Cyborg was cut off by the sound of a door opening. Star rolled her eyes towards the noise and let out a pitiable moan, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Robin had entered the room, grinning like a fool.

* * *

(Beastboy's Room) 

The page flipped. Terra again. Her and Beastboy at a picnic, the two laughing and having a good time. Robin and Cyborg in the background, smiling like brothers. Raven had avoided this picture, like so many others. The other photo was one of just Terra, taken just a few days before their date. Beastboy traced the shape of her face with his finger, sighing to himself. _Someday… someday._

* * *

(Common Room) 

Starfire quickly turned her head away from Robin, refusing to look at him. Cyborg turned the burner off, and removed his apron. Setting it on the counter he walked towards Robin, on his way to leave.

"Cyborg, where are you going?"

He shook his head, still walking.

"This is between you and her. You gotta settle this, and you better do it now."

The sound of the door closing was heard as Cyborg left, leaving an unsettling silence in the room. There was always some noise in the common room, video games, tofu arguments, meditation, something. Now there was nothing. The silence made Robin uneasy.

"Star… Are you okay?"

"No. Now leave." After a pause she added, "Please."

"Star, what's wrong?"

She sat up in the chair and turned her head to him, tears still gathering in her eyes.

"How can you not know?"

"It's Raven isn't it?"

Starfire just shook her head, giving him a look that made him feel like an idiot.

"Please don't be upset with her Star, it's not her fault, it's-"

He was cut off by Starfire's harsh words, "It is not Raven I am upset with, _Robin_."

Robin looked to the floor, his good mood destroyed. How could he have forgotten about Starfire? Sweet, innocent Starfire. He could feel nothing but remorse over his actions that day, over his conversation with Raven, over his feelings. It was impossible for anyone to feel as low as he did then. He could literally feel his heart hit his stomach.

"Star…I'm…I'm sorry."

Starfire blinked, setting free a stream of tears. Robin mistook this as her crying, and only felt worse. There was no holding back for him.

"I'm sorry I broke your heart. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't mean for any of this."

He sat down on the couch and let his head flop down, resting on his knuckles.

"When I first told Raven about how I felt, she rejected my feelings. She told me that she couldn't care for me in return. I felt the same way you do now, I felt like life was horrible, that it wasn't worth living, and that I was worthless. That's how I ended up in the infirmary. It was because of how I reacted to her."

Robin looked up at Starfire, hoping to see his words having an effect. She blinked in surprise again, but no new tears fell. Robin took this as a good sign and continued.

"I used to love you, you know. I really did, but I could never talk about it. I could never act on my feelings. It just made me more and more depressed, loving you from a far. I always thought that you didn't love me, so I slowly gave up. I slowly became numb inside. That was when I realized what it was like to be Raven, unable to feel. I guess from there I fell for her, once I understood her. When I found your gift, I felt all those old feelings come rushing back. I felt like I was betraying Raven, she had finally admitted to feeling for me too, and I felt so happy to be with someone, that I just ignored you. I wanted the feelings to go away. I wanted to go back to loving Raven. I'm so sorry I did that too you, I just… I just feel so bad…"

Starfire gave a small sniffle. His words, his story touched her. He stood up and walked towards her.

"I'm really sorry Star. I know it doesn't seem like enough, but if there's anything that I can do to make it up to you, I'll do it in a second. Just forgive me, that's all I ask. Forgive me for my actions."

Robin extended his hand, palm up to Starfire, hoping that she would take it. She didn't move from the chair she was on, she just stared at him for a long time. Slowly a small smile crept up on her face. She placed her hand in his, and he pulled her out of the chair.

"You are forgiven Robin. I cannot stay upset with you forever. Not with my best Earth friend."

Robin smiled, still holding her hand in his. He noticed this and quickly pulled his hand away, blushing slightly.

"Sorry."

"Do not be sorry Robin. We are friends, and friends are allowed to touch each other, yes?"

Robin nodded.

"Friends are also allowed to do this, or am I mistaken?"

Starfire moved towards Robin and threw her arms around him, capturing him in a hug. She was bent over at the waist, so her head was level with his. It was a friendly hug, there were no hidden feelings behind it. She wasn't pressing her body against his, or doing anything that would allude to feelings of love.

Robin inhaled, taking in her scent, a mix of lilacs and honey. He put his arms around her, returning the friendly gesture, seeing no harm in it. Robin's thoughts wandered as he stood there, thinking to himself of how everything now was more or less okay. No one was depressed, no one hated him, and he had made amends with Starfire and Raven.

A gasp awoke Robin from his thoughts. Turning his head he saw Raven standing in the doorway, a look of shock and betrayal on her face, seeing him and Starfire like that.

She shook her head slowly, "No…"

Robin pulled an arm away from Starfire, holding it out to Raven.

"No wait! It's not what you think!"

"No…" Raven repeated in a hushed voice.

She stepped backwards a few steps, speaking softly again.

"You lied to me. You lied… You said you didn't want to be with her… You lied…"

She turned and ran off, leaving Robin alone with a confused Starfire.

"Dammit! Star I'm sorry but I have to go."

He pushed her off him and ran off to find Raven and explain.

* * *

(Door to the Roof) 

Raven had run away from the common room, seeking her only place of comfort, the rooftop. Forgetting the storm she ran towards it, up the various flights of stairs to that last door leading her to freedom. She arrived at her destination, only to find it locked. _Of course, it's still locked down._ Throwing caution to the wind, she used her powers to blow the door off its hinges. Thick sheets of rain flew in and hit her face, stinging her skin. Waves of cold air rushed in, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to get away from him. She ran out into the storm, disappearing from view within a few feet.

* * *

(Elsewhere) 

Robin was running hard, trying to keep up with Raven, but her anger gave her legs more power, and she was able to gain distance on him. She had disappeared around a corner, leaving him to chase nothing. He stopped in the corridor, thinking to himself where she might go. His worse fear was that she had headed for the rooftop, as the storm was still going. Hoping she wasn't there he ran towards the roof.

* * *

(Stairs to the Roof) 

Robin turned the last corner and look up at the door, finding it off its hinges, lying on the ground, water pouring down the steps from the rain that now fell inside. Swearing to himself he pulled out his communicator, paging Cyborg. After a second the half-human face of his friend appeared.

"What's up Robin?"

"Raven's missing, I think she headed out into the storm. The door to the roof is blown away. Prepare the infirmary, I'm bringing her back."

In the tiny image of Robin's communicator, Cyborg's head shook.

"No man, don't go out there! It's dangerous, we can't have both of you injured! Wait for Star, BB, and me!"

"No Cyborg, she's out there and I'm not waiting for anyone else. Prepare the infirmary that's an order."

"Wait Robin-"

Robin flipped down the lid of the communicator, cutting off the transmission.

"Sorry Cyborg."

Tucking the communicator back into his belt, he ran up the stairs and out into the storm.

* * *

(Rooftop) 

"RAVEN!"

Robin had to shout at the top of his lungs to be heard in the storm. Rain stung his face, and he was almost instantly chilled to the bone. He ran forward shouting her name, squinting in the rain, hoping to be able to see her. His feet splashed in the thick layer of water on the roof, almost enough to reach his ankles. His vision cut out a few feet in front of him, if he wasn't careful he could run and slip off the roof, falling to his death.

"RAVEN! COME BACK!"

There was no answer except the sound of rain slamming into the roof.

"RAVEN! WHERE ARE YOU? ANSWER ME RAVEN!"

Running again, his ears straining to hear something, anything, which would tell him where she was. He hoped with all his might that she was still on the roof, and had not flown off. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he shouted her name again. He was still running forward, knowing that he was running out of rooftop to run on.

"RAV-"

He was interrupted when he tripped over something on the ground. Turning in mid-air he saw Raven lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious. Landing on his side he skidded over the wet ground, his arm outstretched, trying to reach her. With a sickening feeling, he felt his body start to tilt, his head dropping down, no longer able to see Raven. With horror throughout his whole body, he realized that he was falling off the roof, and that there was no one to save him. He felt the solid ground of the roof give way, and he knew that he was falling freely in air. He immediately reached for his birdarang, to save himself, but the rain marred his vision, making it impossible to even tell where the tower was. Even if he could see, it most likely wouldn't be able to latch onto the roof, not with the amount of water on it.

Shouting at the top of his lungs, he fell down, not knowing how far he had to go or if anyone would save him. He heard a faint voice from somewhere, up, down, he didn't know where. He could see something coming towards him in the dim light, a gray line zigzagging behind it. Whatever it was, was now wrapping itself around his waist. The gray line grew taunt, and Robin felt his body jerk as his fall stopped. The sudden force of his stop caused him to black out, the last thing he saw was the side of Titan's Tower sliding downwards, as he was slowly pulled up to the roof.

* * *

This chapter was shorter than normal, and that's once again for the cliffy at the end. Next chapter will make up for it I hope. Hopefully the rooftop scene gives a better idea of how rough this storm is. 

Since all my commentary more or less went to the beginning, there's not much else to say here, except that, you don't have to respond to my ranting. That was just something I needed to get off my chest. If you disagree with it, just do like I asked. Don't be an idiot about it.

Once again I must apologize for usingh the term retarded. I really do not like saying that, I think it's really innapropriate to use, but that was the only thing I could think of to get my point across. So please no hating over that. I am truly sorry if that offended anyone.

For those in school (like myself), have a nice spring break. And for all you christians out there, I hope your Easter is pleasant and funfilled. Even if you're not christian, and celebrate Easter, that message goes to you.

Have a good week people.

OptimusChrist


	12. True Love

I am by no means a religious man, but I'd like to express my sorrow at the death of the pope. He was a good man. I think that says enough.

**Darkbird1345**: You are a man/woman of many words you know that? lol. Glad you like it, and your review tends to be the first that I get. Congrats.

**DarkoftheNight**: I disagree with you, I'm not too proud of some parts of this story (namely chapter 1, hate that one a lot). That might just be author bias though.

**Chico De Los Ojos Cafe**: Glad you liked it, and that you got to really understand the storm.

**Martson**: I agree, RobRae pairings tend to have more depth, since the author has to set up the pairing and make it logical (usually).

**kiersten**: I don't find RobStar annoying, I mean, it is kinda how the show works out. You're entitled to your opinion though. Praise is great, authors need egos too you know.

**Witch01**: I think you'll find the ending satisfactory.

**sarah**: Had to point that out didn't you? I had to change that, been bugging me all week.

**SPECIALGUY**: Naw, can't find me if I don't leave my house. You most likely will also enjoy the ending though.

**That one guy...**: I've done better rants. Far better. We shall see if you were right in what that gray line was, won't we?

**sha-kenren**: Starfire is quite bubbly, it can get annoying. She just lacks depth in my opinion, her and Beastboy. The writers do very little investigation into their characters, unlike Raven. I wish they'd do more for them.

**Cygnus De Hielo**: Congrats on joining fanfiction btw, look forward to seeing what you got as a writer (that is if you're going to write anything). I've decided on Thor. It's his fault. You had a great point about that, too bad I never thought of it. Guess that means I need to read more comics. Sorry to hear you got sick after vacation, real fun way to come home eh? If you really have interest in my other story, I might continue it, even though I'm currently brainstorming something else.

**Zerath**: Human posts are good, but so are those that inflate my ego. You, like so many others, should like the ending.

**gosscliff**: Read and find out. That's all I'm saying.

**pureangel**: Yeah, I kinda agree on the language. I don't like swearing that much, tend not to do it (unless I get pissed). Second question, hmmmm. Will they find someone? You just have to read and see...

**Lightning728**: Oh, so now we're 1337, eh? Alright, I can play that game. G0t j00r 3-m41l d00d. Quite possibly the single most misleading thing I have ever read. Way to go. Yeah, seems like only you and Cygnus. I count myself lucky they don't insult me personally, I mean, who can handle "omfg, j00 r teh sux!1111oneoneoneone!" That's rather harsh. I get the feeling that you aren't fully aware of what your review says though... Calvin And Hobbes... sadly no. It's not. It's a nickname for me (Hobbs) that I got from family when I was a wee child. The day I learned of Calvin and Hobbes was pretty cool though.

**Ocelot The Revolver**: You're the only reviewer to get a relatively timely update. Way to win.

Sorry this is so late, the power adapter/battery charger on my laptop broke, so I've been running on battery power for the whole week, trying to make it last long enough to get a new one. Hope this chapter is worth the wait to you all.

The last chapter, the end to it all. Read on.

**

* * *

The Power Of A Storm**

**Chapter 12: True Love**

Robin's eyelids twitched, fighting to open. He could hear noises around him. No, voices. There were people around him, talking. Talking about him. He could barely make out a few words, but their meaning was lost. His eyelids hurt, and felt so heavy. Forcing them open a little his eyes met a blinding white light, the intensity of it forced his eyes closed again. The voices were getting dimmer, harder to hear. He could feel himself slipping back into sleep, his last thoughts echoing in his mind. _Where am I? What…What happened?_

* * *

(Day 7) 

Robin rolled over in his sleep, disturbed by his dream. He dreamt he was out in the storm, and that he was searching for something, someone. He had tripped on something and slid off the roof, and fell down, down into a gray abyss. The abyss never ended, and Robin spent the rest of his life falling, screaming. His life playing itself before his eyes over and over again, his parents' death, the forming of the Titans, his fight with Raven. The last few days always haunted him, never making amends, never getting to say, "I love you." Robin's eyes burst open and he sat upright. Feeling a sharp stabbing sensation, he quickly grabbed his head. _Ow…_ Looking around him he found himself yet again waking up in the infirmary. _What happened? Why am I here again?_

The sound of an opening door came from his right, and Robin looked to see none other than Cyborg walking in, holding a clipboard. He had his head down, and was reading something on it. Mumbling to himself as he looked up to see the now awake Robin.

"Mornin'."

"Cyborg… what happened? Why am I here? Again?"

Cyborg put his clipboard down, shaking his head. "You went out into the storm, trying to find Raven, and fell off of the tower."

Robin looked out the window near his bed, to the rain outside. It had lessened in its fury, now almost like a normal storm. He nodded to himself, remembering the fall all to well, as well as the gray line that saved him.

"Who saved me?"

"I did. Heard you shouting as you were falling. I used the grappling hook built into my arm to catch you. It was amazing that I caught you, couldn't see for beans. You ended up blacking out before we pulled you up."

"We?"

Cyborg nodded. "Star, BB, and me. I told you to wait for us."

"Guess you were right." Robin grinned, then winced at the pain that shot through his skull.

"Head hurt?"

"Yeah…"

He nodded again. "Thought so, when we pulled you up you banged your head into the side of the tower a few times. That's prob'ly why."

Robin winced again. "Damn that hurts."

Cyborg waved a finger at him. "Serves you right for going out there. Why you think I had us go on lockdown? For fun?"

Robin tried to laugh, only to cause more pain. He swore again, cursing himself for going out there.

"As for your next question, she's fine. She slipped in the rain and hit her head, that's why she was lying there. As far as effects from the storm, she was worse off, being less clothed and out longer, but banging into the tower made you worse off overall. She's out in the kitchen having tea if you want to go see her."

Robin nodded, and attempted to get up, his arms weak from being in the storm. Cyborg moved towards him, trying to help him up. Robin was strong enough to push him off, refusing to accept his help.

"I'm fine."

Cyborg nodded. "Why was she out there?"

Robin shook his head, letting a sigh escape his lips. "It's…complicated."

"Better deal with it then."

"Yeah."

Robin walked slowly out of the room, working hard to maintain his balance, his body still weak.

* * *

(Kitchen) 

Raven sipped her tea slowly, taking in the relaxing scent of it. She felt the air move near her as someone sat down. Glancing over to the chair she spied none other than Robin. She shifted her gaze back to the tea leaves swirling on the surface of her drink.

"Hey."

Raven said nothing. _Hey? Is that all he's got to say to me?_

"How are you?"

_Oh dandy, you know, heartbreak, broken trust, the usual. Just. Fucking. Dandy._ "Fine."

"Good."

Raven said nothing, she just resumed drinking her tea. Robin sighed, and remained sitting next to her. He too said nothing. The next move was hers. He could wait her out. Finally the silence got her, and she spoke.

"Are you going to say anything else, or are we done here?"

Robin shook his head slowly. He turned in his chair to look at her.

"Why do you have to be this way Raven? Why do you have to push me away?"

She set her tea down slowly, and turned to face him.

"Why? You want to know why? It's because of you. You and people like you. People who say they care about me, then turn around and lie to me, betray my trust, and then pretend it never happened."

"Is that what you think happened? That I lied to you for _fun_? You think that I take some sort of sick, perverse pleasure in torturing you emotionally?"

"I don't need to think that. Your actions say it."

Robin stood up, despite his aching limbs. He had had enough. He was sick of her attitude, of the way she just sulked around and acted like everyone was against her. His rage threatened to break him apart at the seams, it took all his effort to control it.

"Listen to me Raven. Why don't you get it?" He spoke through gritted teeth in an attempt to control his rage. "Just because Star was hugging me does not mean that I've eloped with her."

"…I saw what I saw."

"Dammit Raven!"

Robin grabbed the chair he had been sitting in and threw it across the room, where it broke into pieces after hitting the wall. Raven's eyes grew wide at his sudden outburst of violence.

"Why don't you get it! How many times do we have to do this! What the fuck is your problem!"

Raven said nothing, she was still in shock. Robin's shoulders sank low, his energy and anger fading from him.

"I'm just so sick of this Raven. I am tired of doing this. I am tired of trying to convince you. I shouldn't have to do this. If you feel the same way for me, then you should trust my words, and not go running off whenever I make any contact with Starfire."

Robin sighed, catching his breath for a minute before continuing.

"Okay, so fine. Your mother died, your father abandoned you. Fine. You're insecure. That's all fine and good, but that does not excuse the way you've been acting. Just believe me Raven. That's all I ask. I want to make this work, but I can't unless you trust me. And if you can't trust me, then I'm not going to bother chasing after you, no matter how much I love you."

Raven's eyes grew even wider. His last words echoing in her mind. _I love you…love you…love you…_

"W-what…Did you just say…love?"

Robin sucked in his breath, amazed he had spoken those words aloud. _Did I really just admit it to her?_ His voice quivering, he tried to speak again, only to have a jumble of meaningless noises come out.

"Robin? Is it true?"

Hope. Her voice rang of hope. Robin looked up into her eyes, seeing the love and hope they held. How could he deny her the truth? Slowly he nodded, "Yeah Raven. It's true. I…I love you."

A single tear wound its way down Raven's cheek. Never had she hoped to imagine someone telling her those words.

"I love you Raven, with all my heart and soul. The world be damned, all I want to do is be with you."

Robin reached up and brushed away her tear.

"I'm sorry I took so long to say it."

He turned away from her, preparing to leave.

"Robin."

He turned back around, to find her standing now, as close to him as she could be without touching him. Being so close to her made his heart skip a beat. Her arms reached out to him, grabbing his shoulders, and in one fluid motion she pulled him to her, pressing her lips against his. Robin's eyes flew as wide as they could get, the sudden kiss taking him by surprise. After his initial shock he closed his eyes, savoring the soft touch of her lips on his. His heart soared free, the feelings coming to him were indescribable. His mind reeled at the thought of how something so simple could make him feel so complete. He kissed her back, pushing his lips against hers, afraid to end the single greatest moment of his life. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her whole body up against his as he continued to kiss her as passionately as he could, pouring all his love and longing into that single action. Time was lost upon the two lovers as they stood there. To each it was if there was nothing but the other, and the passion that they shared. Life was perfect.

Outside the rain had slowed, now merely a drizzle. The clouds began to part, and for the first time in a week, the sun shone down on Titan's Tower, right into the room where Robin and Raven stood.

Raven broke the kiss briefly, to share the words that she longed to speak.

"I love you too, Robin."

* * *

The End.

Do I really need to say more? It'll just ruin the feeling from the end.


End file.
